


One Feed

by Dangit, ZoSanLaw



Category: One Piece
Genre: BonAce, Buzzfeed AU, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, See your best friend naked, ZoSan - Freeform, navi - Freeform, youtube au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:43:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5993656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangit/pseuds/Dangit, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoSanLaw/pseuds/ZoSanLaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fic created on the ideas adapted from BuzzFeed on YouTube. A weird idea, now turning into an experiment... How's it going to affect the lives of our dearest YouTubers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - Married for a Week

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! So, yet another collab fic between the darling Dangit and I. This one is a gift to everyone. Happy Valentine’s Day! :D
> 
> So, there is this YouTube channel called “The Buzzfeed.” We both saw some quite amusing and cute couple/non-couple/nakama/rival videos on it and decided to make a whole new OneFeed world out of it. 
> 
> The ideas are theirs and the Characters are Oda’s. We are just gonna let our writings help your minds paint you an OOC picture of some of our favorite ships.
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Prologue _

_ Day Zero _

 

Being a working woman is a tedious task. Getting up at the break of dawn, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, bathing, feeding your cats and by the time you’re done, you need to rush to work because you’re running late, no matter how early you wake up.

 

Which is why, Bonney is totally against the idea of working for someone other than herself. So she became a YouTuber. And it was the best decision she ever made. She goes to various food haunts all over the world and vlogs about it. She gets to sleep when she wants to, wake up when she wants to. She’s almost never running late. She can gym all she wants, eat all she wants, sleep all she wants and drink all she wants.

 

So, when she was first approached by a cheeky fellow to be a part of OneFeed, she was hesitant. Yeah, she loves their work. They are the most amazing group of people she has ever known. 

Luffy, the one who had approached her, is a famous gamer, and everyone who works with him on the channel are equally as famous. Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Vivi, Robin, Franky and Brook - they all have a huge subscriber base. They all have their separate accounts on YouTube - both vlogs and main - and they’re also a part of OneFeed. So when Luffy told her she would have all the freedom in the world and would just have to pop in for a couple of collabs they made every once in a while - if she wanted to- she agreed, though still a little hesitant.

 

Now, she’s a dedicated member. Her schedule is extremely flexible and everything runs in an organized chaos. She loves doing collabs with everyone and has become fast friends with Ace and Sanji. Ace eats and Sanji cooks. Not to forget, they’re both gorgeous. 

 

She got a call last night telling her about today’s meeting and to drop by at around eight. Which is why she’s sitting on the relaxing couch, between Ace and Sanji, discussing the various cheese burst pizza toppings. 

 

Sanji has long blond hair which is tied up behind his back today and the dark blue color of his body-hugging tee accentuates his eyes. They speak just as much as he does, showing the emotion behind every word he speaks and captures every person that listens to him. He has a lithe physique, it’s obvious that he’s conscious of his health. 

 

Ace is not behind. He’s a perfect example of the hot guy in college everyone wants to be with. Medium raven hair, cut in layers and flicked away from a tanned face. Eyes always alive and marginally soft, though they always hold a hint of mischief. Sleek long nose and a smile that could kill.

 

Bonney sits between them, her mouth filled with saliva at the thought of pepperoni, black olives, bacon, ham, green chillis, and sausage on a pizza. Her hair is done straight with volume, being blessed with thick long hair, despite bleaching the naturally brown hair to pink, blue eyes quite similar to Sanji’s though a little less bright, but they still gleam with happiness. She wears a pink tinted lip balm and dark liner with simple brown smokey eye shadow. She talks in the most carefree manner, despite the somewhat elegant appearance and attracts both men and women like moths to a flame.

 

“We should make a collab where you cook this and we eat it,” Bonney speaks, looking at Sanji.

 

“I am not cooking something that unhealthy on my channel!” the blonde exclaims.

 

“Then make it on mine!” Bonney grins, “And for your channel, I will eat some of those vegan things you call food and you can give me a new hair style!”

 

“That actually sounds interesting!” Ace says, “And I could make a video of us three with my added special effects… we could do one of those challenges.They are never ending.”

 

“The ice bucket challenge would be perfect. I just added a video tagging you three in it,” Nami says as she wiggles in next to Sanji, her long hair tickling her bare arms and the pink tank top with white shorts doing justice to her features. Her eyes are nutty brown and her full lips are warm with just a hint of lip balm. She’s always bare faced when she isn’t shooting, having smooth skin… one would wonder why she needs the makeup in the first place.

 

“Nami, my swan! You look beautiful as always!” Sanji says as he shifts a little to give Nami more space. It makes Bonney and Ace shift to sit closer as well, “what’s that about a challenge?”

 

“The ice bucket challenge.”

 

“I heard challenge; I’m in.”

 

Nami rolls her eyes as her flatmate joins the group,pulling a chair and sitting next to her. With dyed kelly-green hair contrasting starkly against tanned skin, Zoro is a surprisingly attractive man. He’s not what Bonney usually goes for- she likes a lighter build, similar to Ace and Sanji’s, and Zoro is stacked with muscle-but there’s a strange charisma about him that attracts attention like bees to honey. Perhaps it’s the infuriating attitude, the cocky grin, or the buckets of exuded self-confidence, but the man is smoking hot.

 

“You don’t even know what it is,” Sanji snaps, glaring at the man and the whole group sighs. There they go again.

 

“Doesn’t matter. I’m gonna win.”

 

“It’s not about winning, you neanderthal. Is about raising awareness of ALS! If you don’t dump a bucket of ice cold water on your head within 24 hours, you forfeit and have to donate to the ALS Association,” Sanji says, looking down at Zoro.

 

“And you tagged him on this?” Zoro snorts, glancing at Nami while pointing at Sanji, his finger almost poking his nose. “They guy who refuses to water his grass?”

 

“Only on rainy days! Why water them if it’s gonna rain?”

 

“Do you also turn off your shower while you lather?”

 

“Fuck you! At least I shower!”

 

“I shower, too!”

 

“Once a week?”

 

“Fuck you! At least I wasn’t born with a stupid curling eyebrow!”

 

“Well, at least I was born with a brain! You’re the stupid one who doesn’t know north from up!”

 

“The buildings fucking move!”

 

“ _ You _ need to  _ move _ -out of the state!”

 

“Ha! Good one.  _ Not!” _

 

“Donuts?”

 

Both men stop, faces inches from each other, hands wrapped around the neck of their shirts, angry scowls twisting in surprise at the sight of perfectly baked donuts pushed under their noses.

 

Vivi grins and shakes the box. “I brought glazed white chocolate for Sanji and rum cinnamon for Zoro.”

 

“Oh, my sweetest Vivi-chan!Thank you so much!” Sanji praises, instantly forgetting his fight with Zoro.

 

Zoro mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ‘man-whore’, but Sanji is too busy flirting- or trying to flirt- with Vivi to notice.

 

“They are home baked, I hope I did a good job,” the designer says, her blue hair tied in a messy bun and her sweet smile making a room for itself in everyone's hearts. She takes a seat close to Ace, her moves delicate and elegant, as she looks at everyone taking their pick from the box. 

 

“These are really good, Vivi!” Bonney says, her words a little muffled as she’s speaking with her mouth full. 

 

“Taste like heaven. Mmmh,” Ace moans next to her and Vivi blushes.

 

“Yes, it is perfect. Crumples in your mouth and the glaze is giving you the perfect taste of…” Sanji, as usual, goes on a rant every time he tastes food.

 

“Shut up, ero cook. They’re delicious, Vivi,” Zoro interrupts.

 

Before Sanji can retort, Nami starts speaking, not interested in listening to their bickering again, “Well, with Zoro appreciating them, they have to be good, Vivi!” 

 

“What have to be good?” A throaty low masculine voice comes from the door and everyone turns to see Luffy, fresh out of gym, sweat sticking his thin tee to his lean frame and earphones dangling from around his neck. His hair is sticking in weird directions, some of it falling in his ever-excited eyes and a jovial, heart fluttering grin graces his features.

 

“Oh no…” Ace mumbles, “Hide the donuts, quick. He’ll swallow them and leave none for us!”

 

“Like you're any better!” Bonney and Sanji exclaim together, making everyone laugh and Ace wince. 

 

“Awesome. You guys got donuts!” Luffy grins as he pulls a chair and sets it between Zoro and Vivi, completing the parabola, “I could use some food after that workout!” 

 

“Went hard on yourself again?” Zoro asks, biting into his second donut.

 

“Yeah,” is the only response he gets before Luffy is shovelling the donuts into his mouth.

 

“Good,” Zoro smirks, “so you’ve got some new idea you wanted to talk about?”

 

Luffy nods enthusiastically and holds up a finger as he gulps hurriedly. “You’re all getting married. But only for a week,” he says and takes another bite, intaking the second half of a cinnamon donut.

 

Everyone stops eating as they stare at Luffy, their minds in temporary shock. Then Sanji clears his throat, “you might want to expand on that, Luffy.”

 

“Well,” Luffy swallows again, “Marguerite and I were talking yesterday and we thought it would be cool to see you guys married for a week, interact, live like a couple, be a little open to one another. You’re all shipped. So the subscribers will enjoy it too.”

 

“That… doesn’t really sound bad,” Nami says, a soft, sly smile gracing her features, “so, I guess, Vivi and I, Bonney and Ace and…”

 

“No,” Sanji says, before she can utter the words he’s dreading. “It’s a horrible idea.”

 

“And why is that?” Luffy asks innocently, looking at Sanji with huge eyes.

 

“I am not living with the green haired mongrel!”

 

Zoro snorts, making Sanji glare at him, “don’t tell me you’re actually on board with this?” he hissed at him, charm and gentlemanliness forgotten as usual when he faced the man.

 

“I’m not jumping at the offer. But, unlike you, I don’t back out from a challenge.”

 

“What did you say?”

 

“That you’re a scaredy cat! What? Think you’ll fall in love with me?”

 

“Like shit! As if anyone could ever fall for you!”

 

“So you guys are in too!” Luffy’s voice interrupts the baseless argument. “Great! This is gonna be awesome!!”

 

“So wait...what are we supposed to do? I mean, during this  _ marriage _ or whatever?” Ace asks curiously.

 

“You guys have to meet Robin and Franky tomorrow, and they will tell you the rules,” Luffy says. “They’re the most married couple I know! Be here at Seven AM.”

 

“Seems like a interesting idea,” Bonney hums. “A little fan-service to the people that ship us on the web. It’s bound to get lots of views!”

 

“And it’ll be fun!” Luffy exclaims, smiling widely.

 

“Seems like everyone likes the idea except you, curly brow.” Zoro glances at Sanji and smirks widely. “Are you gonna back out?”

 

Sanji glares at Zoro, but everyone knows he never backs out of a challenge when it’s presented by Zoro. The two of them live to antagonize each other. “Fine, I’ll do it. But there’s no way I’ll be moving to your shitty apartment. I don’t want to get infected by toxic moss.”

 

“Whatever. Who even wants you at my place?” Zoro snaps. 

 

“That means you can move in with me, Vivi,” Nami tells the blue-haired girl, winking. 

 

“There’s no way I’m giving up my king-sized bed or cats, so you can move in to my place,” Bonney tells Ace, who simply shrugs.

 

“That’s fine with me,” he says, “is anyone else still hungry?”

 

Bonney and Luffy murmur in agreement as the topic comes to a close. Bonney has had a very long day and she really wants to sleep already, after eating more food of-course… maybe some pizza?

 

“You guys wanna grab a pizza on the way home?”

 

As everyone starts to stand up and head towards their cars, Bonney can’t help but notice the slightly put off mood Sanji has as he walks next to her. 

 

“Hey…” She nudges him, making him look at her and smile. “You okay?”

 

“Yes.” Sanji sighs, “I am just not too excited about this.”

 

**_To Be Continued..._ **


	2. The Wedding and To-do's!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and Kudos everyone! It really motivated us to write this chapter.  
> Hope you all enjoy!! :D

**_Chapter One_ ** **_  
_ ** **_The Wedding and To-do's!_ **

 

Despite the fact that most of their videos end up being from three to ten minutes long, there’s a _lot_ of preparation needed to be done before and after each one. This specific project will take a considerable amount of time, no exception. Even though they will only be married for a week, preparations extend a week before and a week after.

Working for OneFeed doesn’t just mean being a YouTube actor. They all have skills in producing, editing, directing, writing, and _then_ acting out the parts in their outline. So even though Luffy was the one who came up with the original idea, it takes group effort to plan out the next coming week.

Which brings things back to today: Day One.

Or as Zoro likes to call it: _The Day I’ll Regret For The Rest Of My Natural Life._

It all starts with arriving at work and seeing the front lawn already decorated with a metal archway wrapped in white flowers, with some of his co-workers already in the process of adding three separate white carpets, a bunch of mismatched chairs, and a large table slowly being filled with drive-through food.

In the middle of everything, standing like a conductor of the orchestra of hell, is Luffy. The man-child is dressed in his usual jean shorts and flip-flops, but this time he has added a button up black shirt with a white collar tucked in under the collar of his shirt, like the ones priests wear.

“I’m pret’ty sure this is blasphemous,” Zoro says, stepping next to Luffy. “Not that God is real or anything.”

“Zoro! You’re late!” Luffy exclaims, not upset in the least. “You gotta go do hair and makeup!”

“Excuse me?”

His attention switches to where Luffy is pointing at the other poor bastards dragged into this thing. Vivi and Nami are talking and giggling, best of friends like always, with Bonney pretending to be part of their banter while secretly just enjoying the personal pan pizza set between the two girls. Ace and Sanji are seated a few feet away, Sanji is dressed in white pants and shirt, layered on top with a fitted vest that shows off his lithe physique. There’s no way he isn’t sweating.

They’re in California, for christ’s sake. There’s a _heatwave_.

“You’re gonna have a stroke,” Zoro says to the blond as a greeting, automatically grinning when Sanji scowls at him. “But if you die, wait until after we get married, so I can inherit all your shit.”

“What the fuck are you wearing!?” Sanji yells, ignoring Zoro’s comment.

He looks down at his clothes. Did he forget to put on anything? Nope; he’s got on his pants, his shirt, shoes...ah, socks. He forgot socks.

“Did you want me to show up naked or something?” Zoro grunts, raising an eyebrow. “Kinky.”

Sanji blushes--of course he’s blushing, the guy is a fucking pervert anytime except when it’s directed at him--but his scowl deepens. “Shut the fuck up. You’re the one that’s gonna look ridiculous in your ripped jeans and faded shirt next to me.”

“Or you’re just gonna look like you’re trying too hard,” Zoro counters and is rewarded by the rapid paling of Sanji’s face.

The range of colors he can make appear on Sanji’s face with his words is one of the reasons why he loves messing with Sanji. He’s never seen anyone who as deeply red as the blond, nor has he ever seen anyone actually go almost purple with rage. Now, _that_ one was a funny reaction.

“Sanji! C’mon. Time to straighten your hair!”

Could this day get any better? Sanji’s face goes red again as he turns to Nami and Vivi, probably to try and get out of straightening his hair. He has it in a top knot at the moment and it really does suit his style but when his attempts to refuse the girls will fail, all that work spent in tucking those stray loose ends inside the bun will be flushed down the gutter.

“What are you grinning about Zoro? You need a little makeup. Come sit here.” Nami innocently blinks her thick lashes at him as she pats the chair in front of the huge mirror.

It was zoro’s turn to gawk at Nami with his jaw hanging slack. “What makes you think I’ll do makeup, you damned woman!?”

Vivi giggles as she sets on undoing the hair tie from Sanji’s hair, while the blond’s reflection grins at him cheekily. Zoro flips sanji the bird and turns around grumbling to walk into the building and start editing his videos. The plan is foiled as Nami’s manicured nails graze his neck in the process of cuffing her hand around his collar and pulling him back.

How much strength do those muscleless, but toned arms have? Because she’s practically dragging a wriggling body builder across the lawn and then forcing him down on a seat.  

“Awww… look at you all pouting,” Nami coos as she uses a pin to clip back his hair and then starts on cleaning his face with a wipe. “You will look perfect with some lipstick on.”

Zoro’s eyes widen, “I am not applying lipstick!” he practically roars in her face, to no avail. Both the ladies and Sanji laugh hysterically as Nami starts applying moisturiser to Zoro.

Ace and Bonney come and stand on either side of his chair and Ace lays a reassuring grip on Zoro’s shoulder. “Don't worry. They did my makeup too. They won't overdo it,” he grins.

Bonney nods at his side, “Nami is right though… You do have gorgeous lips. They look so supple. Maybe you should apply a bit of tinted lipbalm at least?”

Zoro groans as Nami and Bonney start discussing which product would be perfect for his lips as Vivi, Sanji and Ace snigger at the side.

His doom has already begun.

And he's not even married yet.

Since the set is not yet ready, Luffy sends them off to one of the empty studios to film a little something about what being single is like. He wants to make a comparison between single and married life, with all of them doing an interview about what they think before and after their week of marriage.

Bonney is the first to be interviewed, just something simple over a red backdrop. Since Law, their cameraman for the day, is still outside setting up for their pseudo-wedding, they have to film each other. It’s not a hassle, since they are all very learned with the concepts of filming.

For Bonney, single life is fun. She’s never been in a serious relationship, though she’s dated plenty of men. But she’s too independent to share her time with someone else, so she prefers being single.

“The only two men in my life are Whiskers and Thomas,” she jokes.

“You named your cat Thomas?” Zoro asks, snorting.

“Well, he looks like a Thomas!”

Ace is next, and he has a similar answer as Bonney. But unlike her, Ace doesn’t consider his many partners...well, _partners._

“I’ve had plenty of lady friends,” he says and Nami rolls her eyes.

“Did they know they were just friends with benefits?” she asks.

Ace winces, a guilty puppy smile gracing his face.

“Well, they eventually found out.”

Also unlike Bonney, Ace is not much about independence. In fact, he prefers to share his time with others, and he’s hardly ever seen without a friend by his side. What Ace has, is an allergy to commitment - a fact everyone except Ace seem to be aware of.

Vivi, the sweetest out of all of them, gets starry eyed when talking about marriage. She’s the personification of every stereotyped girl in movies, the kind that imagined her dream-wedding since she was a little girl, and has entire scrapbooks and clippings dedicated to wedding-planning. She dreams of The One, of one day settling down in a suburban house with that special one until death do them part.

Despite that, however, she’s also very realistic and realizes that she’s not ready for such a big commitment yet.

“I haven’t been in many relationships, and I’ve never lived with any of my exes, and that’s something I know I certainly need to do before even thinking about marriage,” she says. “Perhaps I’ll marry in my thirties.”

Since Nami is manning the main camera, Zoro goes next.

To him, the physical act of _marrying_ doesn’t mean much. He doesn’t believe in God, so he certainly doesn’t believe in the power of holy vows. But surprisingly, what Zoro _does_ like is the _idea_ of marriage.

“I like being single,” he shrugs. “I guess my personality is not the easiest to get along with, and I like my peace and quiet. I get around when I need to, but it’s not like I’m eager to settle down with someone I barely know. But...it’s not so bad, you know? The idea of spending your whole life with a special one. I think I’d like that.”

“Wow, marimo; didn’t peg you for a romantic,” Sanji says, with less mockery than he’d like in his words.

Zoro scowls. “It’s not romance. It’s companionship. Loyalty. The idea of always waking up with someone next to you. It’s nice...I think.”

Sanji doesn’t answer, but he silently agrees. It _is_ a nice idea, if elusive.

Sanji has had the most relationships out of all of them. If he wasn’t so damn talented in the kitchen, everyone would peg him as a love guru. Men, women...Sanji can woo them all though his bedding habits are limited to men. Unfortunately, his luck only extends to starting relationships, not _keeping_ them.

He’s had more bad breakups than everyone at OneFeed combined. Sometimes he’s the cause of them, but most of them time it’s the other party.Getting dumped and cheated on got tiring, so Sanji only does one-night stands now.

It’s not like he _enjoys_ being single, he just enjoys not being lied to, cheated on, or abused. Because yeah, he can recognize that his personality sometimes paves its way for manipulation and abuse. Not something terribly bad - like some other people experience, but Sanji does tend to let women use him on a regular basis and has actually allowed his male partners to use him too.

“Marriage sounds nice, I just don’t think I’m the right fit for it,” Sanji states.

Zoro takes over for Nami when her turn comes.  Sanji settles down to ask the questions as Nami explains what single life means to her.

Like Bonney, she likes her privacy and her independency. She has very little patience and in a moment of honesty, Nami admits that sometimes she’s too selfish to have a relationship.

“You have to sacrifice a lot of things when you’re with someone else,” she says. “Dates, money, time,...it just all seems like such a hassle and effort with a very small reward.”

“Love is a pretty big reward, Nami,” Vivi says, frowning slightly.

“I guess...but it’s not like I’ve ever been in love,” Nami shrugs. “I mean, I’ve had a couple of relationships, and I’ve certainly _liked_ them...but love?”

“What if you fall in love? Would you like to marry them?” Sanji asks.

“With a very detailed prenup...why not?”

Zoro scoffs, then rolls his eyes when Sanji glares at him.

* * *

 

The time passes quickly. By 1506 hours everyone is ready and the three couples stand in front of Luffy at the make-believe alter. Nami is wearing a warm pink skirt dress, the fabric slithering and tickling against her fair toned thighs, her ass looking perkier than usual in her matching pencil heels. Her hair is tied up in a loose bun with small strands falling and framing her face; a set of diamond tops are glinting in her earlobes though not enough to distract from the gleam in her eyes.

Vivi has also settled for a self designed dress skirt, making a U behind her, the embroidered white cut fluttering effortlessly near her cream wedges. Her hair is loosely curled into everyday waves  and her gold danglers seem to mingle with her hair. She looks like a tanned beauty, hotness and sweetness mixed together. A white chocolava cake.

They’re smiling and discussing about the next couple of videos they have to shoot and upload before the day ends.

Ace is wearing jeans that Vivi designed, with a V-neck white T-shirt from the same line. They do the perfect job of revealing a hint of his muscled pecs and his biceps that bunch appreciatively with every move, the fabric hugging his frame appropriately and showing off his physique. And of course, he had skipped wearing an undershirt. His hair is tied back in a loose ponytail, the shorter strands coming to set around his face.

He’s grinning widely and talking to Bonney animatedly who’s wearing a high waisted beige skater skirt, allowing her to show off her muscle toned legs and a white crop top with a beige shrug, her cleavage visible just in the slightest though the shrug did a good job in accentuating her round mounds. She has her hair straight and simple like she would keep it any other day, and she wore a white stone pendant that matched with her white sneakers. They both look simple and relaxed as they laugh and talk about dinner.

Zoro is standing nonchalantly, listening to Luffy babble about the new machine he tried at gym that day. He looks like a model extracted from a photoshopped magazine. Dark, fitting khaki pants and a matte black shirt that hugs his torso like an overly attached girlfriend, a size too small, like usual. He is wearing  a golden continuous threader hoop and black Timberland boots. His hair is gelled and set back so that every edge of his face is prominent and enhancing his sharp features.  

Sanji stands next to him, lost in his dreams as he wonders about the video he’s supposed to shoot after this with Bonney and Ace. He’s wearing tight white pants that cling to his never-ending legs perfectly, showing off their compact muscles and cup his ass just right, the curve looking tempting enough to smack hard. The shirt and vest hug his back and torso conveniently, not too tight but not loose either, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, pale, partially tanned skin lined with muscle and veins. He has left a few buttons of his shirt open, the creamy collarbones and the two bands of lithe yet muscular pecs visible.

The two are by far the hottest couple and are the centre of attention of the rolling cameras that surround them from every corner and angle. Law, the head of the special effects team alongside Ace, makes them stand at accurate position and poses. He’s a tall man who always dresses informally, any tee shirt with his fitting jeans and yet again, a well built frame. He always has a subtle smirk on his face and his eyes are heavily lined with black water liner that usually smudges by the time he reaches the office. He is covered in cool, freaky tattoos and looks like a perfect bad boy.

When he asks Zoro and Sanji to hold hands for a picture, it almost results in a huge fight between the two, thankfully not escalating that quickly because Law passes them one of his rare murderous glares, showing that he’s in a _no nonsense_ mode - the two then hold hands reluctantly in the midsts of awws and oohs. Law decides not to mention the fact that they’re both blushing and has taken what’s probably the best picture amongst the three couples.

Three bouquets are passed. Vivi and Bonney maturely hold theirs without a fight. Zoro and Sanji stare at the one Marguerite’s brown muscled arm is holding out for one of them to grab.

“I’m not holding those.”

“Neither am I.”

“Next thing you know, there’ll be veils.”

“You should wear a veil, it’ll go with your dress.”

Sanji divertes his gaze from the bouquet to bare his teeth at the mosshead who keeps his gaze fixed on the roses, an amused smirk playing on his lips and eyebrows arched challengingly.

Before the blond can speak, Nami speaks up “that’s actually a very good idea!”

“Nami!” Sanji _doesn’t_ squeak as he turns to look at her, a mask of disbelief staining his features.

“You’ll look good in it Sanji… Even Vivi and Bonney would look lovely in it! What’s a wedding if there is no veil?”

“But… But… Nami dear… I…”

Bonney comes to Sanji’s rescue, knowing very well that the oaf can’t utter a _no_ in front of ladies and she hates it when women use him. “Veils are meant to hide a bride’s face, Nami. Sanji is a groom and so is Zoro. I think both you and Vivi should wear one. I’ll wear one as well,” she smiles at the ginger who scowls a little in her direction.

Marguerite intervenes before a cat fight brews between the two ladies. It is a known fact that Bonney is way too practical and frank for Nami’s taste. Not to forget the way she steps between the two when Nami tries forcing Sanji into doing something that would embarrass him. She’s like an overprotective sister.

“That’s really not an issue, guys. We don’t have time to go buy a veil,” she says, “one of you hold this, please?” Marguerite smiles sweetly at the couple, shaking the roses she’s holding in her hand.

Now, Marguerite may seem like the most kind-hearted blond chick you’ll ever meet, with her bob hair and fit physique and the simple smile. But very few… like Luffy, her boyfriend or Zoro, her friend, know exactly what a person is in for once they do something to irk her. Unlike most women Zoro knows, she gives no shit about nail breaks if you piss her off.

Zoro grunts and grabs the bouquet, making Marguerite smile even more as Sanji pass him a surprised glance.

“Don’t get used to it,” Zoro says, avoiding Sanji’s gaze and bringing to flower up to his nose to smell them. He always did like roses… anything related to nature and serenity calms him down in a way nothing else could. Not that he needs calming down at the moment. But he likes them anyway. That.. and the blond is already well dressed for a faux wedding. Zoro can use something extra too.

Law announces that the camera crew is ready. Penguin stands close to them, yet far enough to dangle the mic on the top of their heads to record whatever they speak. Bepo seems jumpy as he focuses his camera on Luffy and Marguerite while Law directs Sachi, Jean and Mousty to focus on one couple each.

Needless to say, it goes by smoothly. Robin, Franky, Usopp, and Kaya are the only _guests_. Luffy practically orders the three couples to exchange rings. Sanji hesitates for a second before giving his hand to Zoro.

“You’re not actually ordained, are you Luffy?” he asks, making everyone laugh.

As soon as the cheap metal is exchanged, Luffy’s next order is to kiss each other, which both the straight and gay couples mutely refused to follow. Nami and Vivi immediately exchange a small peck.

Bonney and Ace snigger at the two while Sanji and Zoro pointedly avoid each other’s gaze.

“Right. You’re now married for a week! Don’t forget to vlog!” Luffy grinned at them, “Now, you will be meeting our married couples in Filming Room 23 at 9 PM so you all need to be free by then.”

“Oh yes, that reminds me,” Ace turned to glance at Ussop and Kaya who were talking with Franky and Robin. Usopp seemed to be taking notes of whatever it was those four are talking about. “Why do we have to meet married couples?”

“Oh, that’s because you all are single and have no clue what even having a partner is like.” Marquierte said and everyone focused their attention on her, “ so they’ll be giving you some rules, or shall I say, a to-do list. Something that’s important in a healthy marriage.”

“Yeah!” Luffy grinned as he snaked an arm around her waist, “We need to have a study if you prefer having a partner, not a room-mate.”

Sanji didn’t know how he felt about this. It has been ages since he last lived with someone. And he really did like his space. It took a lot of reassurances on Bonney and Ace’s side to even agree to this thing. He’d thought they were just gonna live together for a while but that would have been it. Zoro and he can’t go one whole minute without snapping at each other.

As if knowing what their friend is thinking, the straight couple glanced at him and then at each other. Right. They were definitely shooting their collab next.

“Well, sounds good to me.” Vivi chimes, and Nami grinned at her side.

“Yeah,” she agrees, “it does sound pretty useless without the rules.”

“Cool. Let’s reconvene this at Nine then!” Luffy says as he salutes and rushes to talk to Law about the shoot while Marguerite went off to help the workers in dismantling the set up.

“Why did I ever agree to this????” Sanji moans, rubbing his hands all over his face.

“Because you can’t wait to live with me, pervert.” Zoro says as he practically smacks the bouquet into Sanji’s chest and the blonde holds them a reflex when Zoro lets go. Sanji stares at him with wide eyes as Zoro walks off to the office with that evil smirk on his face.

“Don’t fall in love with me!” Zoro calls out.

Sanji almost went after him to kick that huge head off it’s shoulders. He settled for pitching the flowers back, aimed perfectly for the back of the mosshead. Zoro tilts his head at the last moment and keeps walking, flipping a finger over his back. “Missed!”

Law smirks, partially listening to what Luffy was saying to him as he records Sanji being held back by Vivi and Ace as Nami and Bonney laugh. Those two were a pair of oblivious idiots.

* * *

 

Things calm down after a while and all the members disperse to work on their videos or off screen work.

Nami heads to the filming studio to film a makeup look for marriage guests - simple and elegant yet not outshining the bride. Vivi heads to the office to work on the new set and clothes design for the upcoming videos. Her spot is right next to Zoro’s who’s working on editing the video he made the previous day - 1000 calorie burn workout.

Sanji, Ace and Bonney head to Sanji’s old workplace - Baratie, which is quite close to the OneFeed office. His father, Zeff, is a jovial man to everyone but his workers and son.

On Baratie’s second floor is a luxurious apartment where Sanji and Zeff used to live before Sanji moved out. Zeff had refused to renovate his room into anything different, leaving it the way it was. Sanji usually comes to stay there if he has a long night at work or if he feels like his father can do with some company. Does Sanji ever comes here because he misses his father? Well, no! He is a grown man and he totally doesn't have any lonely days in his life. He just comes because Zeff needs it!

They usually end up watching Star Wars or some classic movies, sprawled on the couch, legs set on the coffee table, sipping on wine and munching on greasy fast foods.

“Hey old man!” Sanji greets the head chef with a grin, who turns around to glance at him once before turning back to shredding the chicken on the hot pan. He pauses again then turns around fully, taking in his son’s appearance.

“Are you getting married?” he asks, his eyebrow cocked.

“Yes, actually. For a week.” Sanji says, “it’s for a video.” He waves his hand, showing disinterest in discussing the topic further. “Anyway. Can we use the apartment for a shoot today?” he continues, jabbing his thumb over his back to point at Bonney and Ace.

They grin and try waving at Zeff, which is difficult as their hands are full - they went shopping for the various toppings, cheese, flour etc. That and they are trying their level best at not trying to sneak food from the nearest stove. Zeff isn’t too fond of that and neither is Sanji.

“Don’t make a mess,” Zeff grunts, turning back to his chicken, “keys are in the office.”

The time flies again. The foodie trio successfully record baking a double cheese burst pizza with as much topping as is humanly possible… that is if Ace and Bonney’s standards can be called human. Sanji couldn’t eat after two bites, the food too greasy and heavy for his taste, while Ace and Bonney inhale it. Sanji hopes they don’t get diarrhea.

Zoro and Vivi finish their work well before time and on Vivi’s suggestion, the two go to a nearby Starbucks to pick up some smoothies and coffee for the others and themselves. Zoro also stops at the convenience store to buy an energy drink. In all the hassle, he had forgotten to eat lunch and though he had a very healthy breakfast, the workout yesterday had drained him, leaving him in need of more nutrition.

Nami finishea her shoot and happily goes to room 23 before anyone else to work on editing the video on her laptop as she lounges on a bean bag. A monitor is better but she is too lazy to walk back to the office building for that. She happily snacks on some chips as she works on her macbook.

By nine thirty, everyone is in the room and the cameras are rolling. Robin and Franky are talking to Zoro and Sanji while Ussop and Kaya are talking to the other mature couples.

“It’s quite simple actually, nothing too intense,” Robin starts while Franky grins at the scowling couple. “You’re not really married so there is no need for regular sexual activities or romance. You are basically going to be doing very small things which show that you care.”

“Right!” Franky nods, “you guys are free to do anything that isn’t a part of this list. But you can’t not do those on here.” He taps the cap of his ink pen on the clipboard he's holding on his thigh.

“Can we have a look at that?” Zoro asks, extending his hand and Franky puts the board in his hand. He sits back, holding it in a manner where Sanji can see what’s on the list too.

“As you can see,” Robin starts again, “there are a total of five things:

  1. _Exchange four texts daily. (each.)_
  2. _Sleep on the same bed, daily._
  3. _Have minimum five meals together throughout the week._
  4. _Minimum two nice things that are completely unplanned._
  5. _Dinner with other couples about half way through the week._



Sanji’s gaze zeroes at the ‘minimum’ while Zoro’s ears pick up the word ‘at least two’ from Robin’s mouth.

“Sorry, but guys. What do you mean by minimum?”

“Yeah.. what? Like.. are you expecting us to do more? I can’t even think of one for this diva.”

“At least we have something in common, you shitty moss!”

Robin clears her throat, smiling sweetly, “yes…”

“How about one?” Zoro interjects.

“Two,” Robin smiles at him, unblinking, her tone resounding with finally.

“I am regretting this,” Zoro mutters.

“About damn time,” Sanji mutters back.

Franky laughs and claps his hands once. “So, you guys looking forward to do this?”

“No,” both Zoro and Sani monotone at the same time, glaring daggers at the blue haired man who simply scoffs and rolls his eyes.

_**To Be Continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments are valued!  
> Feel free to drop prompts on our tumblrs if you want us to add a scene!! :D  
> Please keep in mind that things are a little hectic in both our lives as of now so the updates will be slow. :( Hopefully you'll stick with us! :)
> 
> dangit96.tumblr.com  
> zosanlaw.tumblr.com


	3. Honey, Sweety!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! Still can't believe the attention this fic got! Hope this one suits your standards as well! *bow*  
> Thank you again for all the comments and kudos and prompts! We are humbled! Please keep them up! It motivates us to keep writing!! :D

 

**_ Chapter Three _ **

**_ Sweety, Honey! _ **

 

They finish up filming before midnight, and by that time, everyone is eager to head home. Unfortunately, Zoro doesn’t get to enjoy the end of the workday as much as he usually does, since he can’t go home to his bed.

No, instead he has to follow Sanji home through the heavy traffic. The damn cook lives a good forty five minutes away from work, include the traffic -even at this time of the night- and it easily took one and a half hour to finally arrive at the traffic free lane. Zoro’s headache has increased tenfold. He really just needed to collapse into a bed already and at this point, it didn’t matter whose.

He doesn’t get to see much of the neighborhood as he drives along, following the black V12 Vanquish Coupe. It’s pretty dark out, but from what the street light were showing, he could say that it looks like any other suburban place, which surprises him a little. He had expected Sanji to live in an upscale apartment, perhaps some kind of douchey bachelor pad. Instead, he’s greeted with a warm and familial home as Sanji pulls into a garage - automated doors and big enough to nestle both their cars comfortably.

He is about to open the door when he remembers that they were supposed to be vlogging throughout the week. What a pain in the ass. He fumbles with the zip of the bag which is carrying all his filming equipment. He extracts his Canon G7X, switches it on, and waits for the flash to work; he notices Sanji stepping out of his car, tying his hair in a loose pony, no vlogging camera in hand. He looks tired, to be honest. The flash goes on and he presses record, watching himself in the small screen provided, flicking his hair one way and another.

“Do I look okay?” He spoke to the object with a lopsided grin that didn’t quite fit in with the slight redness in his eyes - but that never showed up in the video.

When Zoro had started vlogging about four years ago, it had felt extremely awkward to talk to a camera lens that focused on him in a hypnotic manner. But the more views he got, the more he started to realize it was like talking to his subscribers. So he talked to the camera like it was one of his best and closest friends.

Then, there was a time in his life - after watching HER - that he’d feared that he might be developing connections with the camera. He didn’t not vlog for those two days, he’d recollected his thoughts and realized how alone he was. He had started vlogging less after that.

“Alright. So, we’ve reached the blond’s house.” 

He looks out the window again so that the camera is now recording him talking as he peeks out, his neck muscles flexing taut. “It looks cosy. Maybe if he wasn't living in it,” he turns back to the camera, his grin enough to make butterflies run amok in your stomach, “I wouldn't have minded coming here at all.”

Sanji taps on his rolled up window and Zoro cocks an eyebrow at him. He points over his back to the garage exit, probably pointing out that he needs to shut the gates. Zoro huffs as he finally opens the door and exits his white Hyundai Elantra.

“You’re vlogging already?” Sanji asks in a throaty voice, tiredness dripping from it.

“Yeah. You know how Luffy gets if we don’t do what he says.” 

Sanji nods and clicks a button on his keychain to close the garage gates as they exit the space, Zoro carrying his bag in hand. He follows Sanji through the door that leads them inside the house, not missing the wary glance the blond throws at him. He flips the camera around to record Sanji keying open his door, hair falling out from the poorly tied hair-band and hiding his face partially but failing to hide the tenseness in his muscles.

When the lock finally clicks open and he keys in the code to the electronic lock , he remains standing there as he opens the door and allows Zoro to turn the camera to the entrance.

Not bad. The hall is adequately wide and leads to the laundry room. Zoro looks around intently at the area; there is a rug in a small area that is not carpeted and a shelf stand at the side where he can see various keys and show pieces. He’s about to comment on how homey it felt but stops when he realizes that both Sanji and he are standing together and awkwardness begins filling the space between them. 

Sanji is looking at him from behind his fringe. Zoro can tell. His hands are in his pants pockets but the stiffness in his muscles is not hidden. Why is he so tense about this? Is he expecting Zoro to mock his tastes in any way?

Well, what better way to break awkwardness than mockery? 

“I could pick you up and carry you over the threshold like a blushing bride if you want,” Zoro says, smirking a little as the tension break. 

Sanji rolls his eyes and flips him the finger as he walks ahead into the house and turns left. 

“Afraid you’ll fall in love with me, cook?” Zoro snorts as he follows him into the room that turns out to be a spacious kitchen. He doesn't notice Sanji gritting his teeth at him as he takes in his surroundings.

There are all types of kitchenware in here. Knives, cutting boards, pans, pots.. everything. All set and arranged in a neat manner. The space is lighted adequately and throws every nook and corner into relief. The best part is the silver multi-door fridge, in sync with all the silverware.

He had only ever seen 2 of Sanji’s videos. Once when he was told the blond was going to be a part of the team. He had seen one video and decided the guy could do the job well and seemed good for the team. He also decided that he was an irritating smart ass. The second had been their collab which went bad enough to make the subscribers ship them hard. 

Sometimes, he doesn’t understand their audience.  At all.

“Bedroom is down the hall, marimo,” Sanji says, drinking water from one of the small bottles set on a small trolley, refusing to meet his eye. “Come on,” he starts walking and Zoro starts following him round the house again, “I’ve made some room for you in my closet.”

“You’ll do anything to get your ass in my recording, won’t you?” Zoro grins, focusing on Sanji’s ass and recording the infinite curve they make as he walks. For a man, Sanji sure has pronounced lower body muscles which actually makes him stand out of the crowd, both for men and women. They aren't feminine soft and round. No, his body is hard with compact muscles. How Zoro knows this, no one will ever know. 

“Will you,  _ please, _ shut up!” Sanji isn’t facing him, but Zoro knows he’s blushing from the redness at the back of his neck. He shakes his head and closes the camera. That’s probably enough for now. The final video that’s going to be released is going to be mere eight minutes long and there are three couples. No need to vlog too much.

“I just need one drawer, by the way,” Zoro says, showing Sanji his duffel bag, the muscles in his arm flexing as he raises the seemingly lightweight bag.

“Is that all you brought?” Sanji asks, eyeing it skeptically. 

“It’s only a week,” Zoro reminds him. “ Did you expect me to bring my entire closet?”

“At least one outfit per day!” Sanji finally looks at him.

“I just need to wash like, one tee every day with your laundry,” Zoro shrugs, maintaining eye contact.

Sanji bites his lower lip, not replying and glaring at Zoro. You had to admit… Sanji - tired, messed up hair, an open vest and practically unbuttoned shirt, revealed his cream pecs and hint of a nipple - looks hot. Couple that with the slight reddening of his cheeks and biting lip however, he looks like a nervous man… though still hot. 

“What is it?” he asks, getting a little tired of standing in the hallway. He really wants to just bathe and sleep.

Sanji looks away from him and motions towards the walk-in closet they’re standing in front of, “Unpack for now. You’ll have to go get some stuff from your place tomorrow or buy new ones.”

Zoro walks to the closet, his eyebrows knitting together. “And why is that? I told you laundry works fine!”

Sanji doesn’t reply and simply proceeds to his side of the closet. “That's the bathroom,” he points to the door straight across the closet. “Cleared some space for your toiletries as well,” he says, stepping out of his shoes, head bent and frame supported against the rack.

“Don’t you own shampoo?” Zoro scoffs as he unzips his bag and starts extracting two pairs of jeans and a few tees and shirt, letting the empty bag fall at his feet.

“Like hell you’re borrowing my stuff, marimo!” Sanji snarls as he places the shoes on his shoe rack.

“Don’t be cheap, cook,” Zoro says, bending to loosen the laces on his own boots, “look at all these things you have. It's like three people live here. I am sure you can spare me a toothbrush and soap.”

“Quite ahead of yourself, aren't you?” Sanji growled, turning around and stuffing his hand in another shelf. He takes out a toothbrush still in its cover and some towels and hands it over to Zoro. 

“You use the washroom first. Turn the handle to the right for hot water,” he snaps and then walks off to the kitchen, picking his cigarette pack on his his way out from yet another shelf. 

Zoro looks as Sanji walks off again, a little taken aback by how readily Sanji agreed to sharing things. He’s probably very tired. He shrugs it off though and proceeds to enter the bathroom. 

Like everything else seen till now, the bathroom is a clean sophisticated place too with an expensive shower as well as a bathtub with one of those side jets. There is a 40 inch LCD screen in-front of the tub enclosed by a waterproof glass shelf. Even the chamber pot was stylish. 

The mirror was spotless as he stands before it and assesses it. There wasn't even a single thing out of place on the sink counter. Face washes, toothbrush and paste, mouthwash, floss, deo, hair brush, hair gel, spray and straightener - all set in a perfect arrangement and the lights above really complimented his skin tone.

Zoro shrugs out of his clothes and puts them in the hamper, eager to use the fancy shower, see if the hot water from it affects his sore muscles or not.

Sanji rarely ever smokes. He was a chain smoker once but the toll it was starting to have on his body was horrifying. So his habit had been reduced to stress only or post-orgasmic necessity. Right now, he could use one as he cooks a fast snack for Zoro and himself.

His fridge is always packed - vegetables, red meat, white meat, fruits, preserved junk - his fridge has it all. So making a snack is never really a hard decision. He pulls out cartoned orange juice and two glasses. Then extracts bread, cheese and butter. He sets about making a simple cheese sandwich, just one for each. They do have to sleep and he has no clue if Zoro will actually want to eat. Heknows the moss man is hungry but their egos always clash too much. Zoro may reject the offering out of principle.

The iPhone in his pocket dings and he slips it out and leans against the counter to read his whatsapp as the sandwich grilled.

Despite having a very active life on Social Media, Sanji doesn't talk too much. So he rarely ever receives a message from anyone other than Ace or Bonney - usually giving him a time and place to meet up and have an actual conversation. Which is why he is surprised when he sees Vivi, Nami and Bonney already talking and exchanging hearts, kisses and animal emojis on a group named “Couples”.

There are six members and Sanji facepalms when he sees the display picture is set to his and Zoro’s at the make-believe alter, Zoro looking at Luffy who isn’t in the picture and Sanji gazing off into the distance. He doesn’t know they were standing so close to each other at that time and the way it was cropped, they might as well have been holding hands.

He groans again when he realizes Nami is the one who set up that image. He knows there’s no way it’s going to be changed now. 

** Bonney ** **   
** _ Where are Sanji and Zoro? _

** Nami ** _   
_ _ Kissing, maybe? _

Sanji’s eyes bulge in their sockets and he feels his cheeks burn ever so slightly, despite him not wanting to be affected by these jokes. He hurries to type a reply as Ace and Vivi send laughing emojis as a response while Bonney sends a horrified one.

** Sanji ** **   
** _ No! We just got home around five minutes ago. S’up? _

“Oh!” Bonney exclaims, grinning at her screen, finally seeing Sanji participating in the conversation. “He’s online!” she calls out to Ace who has his face hidden in her fridge again.

“Great!” he calls back, “you got any ice cream to go with this cake?”

Bonney looks up from the her Samsung screen to see Ace showing her the chocolate cake that she gotten just yesterday. “Check the freezer. I’m pretty sure I have a vanilla, choco fudge and pistachio in there.”

Ace turns back to the fridge and Bonney returns to the conversation. The traffic to Sanji’s place was bad, apparently. His responses show how tired he iis. She can understand. It’s around 2a.m. and Sanji is usually awake by six. He rarely ever takes naps. He has to be stressed.

It’s a drastically different life for her. She’s not a regular at OneFeed, though she did pops in four times a week. She enjoys working there. But she goes in at any time she wants to. Her life is simple. Vlog herself eating, make honest comments, edit videos - take some time off, upload and then plan a new one. It gets stressful at times and then there are days when non-food-related life gets in the way. But she enjoys it nonetheless. 

She usually goes to sleep around four in the morning and knows for a fact that Ace has similar sleeping habits. But Ace can fall asleep any and everywhere. She suspects he has narcolepsy but the internet stated worse conditions so she just classified it as a weird sleeping habit. 

They got home about an hour and half ago; Bonney lives just ten minutes away from OneFeed offices in a modest apartment. There was nothing too different about it. She liked things simple and her home decor flaunted that side of her.

Since reaching home, they had changed into pajamas, vlogged a little, exchanged warming hugs and introductions to the cats (that could have gone better). 

Ace had simply dumped his stuff in some part of her closet and then the two had decided to watch stuff on netflix and eat whatever they could find in the fridge. The series to be marathoned is Sherlock and the food to be eaten is heavy and basically pure fat and cholesterol rich.

“You’ve got nothing other than vanilla bean in here.”

“I don’t? Sorry. Must have eaten em.” 

She scratches Thomas behind his ear ideally, making him purr in delight. Whiskers has taken Ace’s place when he got up to get some more refreshments. Chips, Ferrero Rocher, salamis, sausages, fried spam and Fanta are probably not going to be enough. They are weirdly silent cats - Thomas a British shorthair and Whiskers a Birman -  that give zero fucks and lay around snoozing or eating all day. Maybe cough up some hairballs when they felt troubled enough. 

Bonney rarely ever gets anyone home, and when she does, the cats never hiss at them… unless the person accidentally steps into their water bowl, like Ace did. Then they turn absolutely vile. It took Bonney five minutes to calm them down and then another five to reassure Ace and get him out of the bathroom, his legs and arms covered in scratches… maybe even a few on his nape but his hair hid those. 

Ace gropes a couple of more times to see if there was something he could find to eat and then returns to the couch, shifting Whiskers a little who doesn’t appreciate it. The cat hisses athim and Ace can do nothing but  grin adorably and set everything down on the coffee table. 

“Okay.. restart?”

Bonney looked up from the phone at him and smiles warmly, “Yeah.”

** Nami ** **   
** _ Where is Zoro, btw? _

** Sanji ** **   
** _ Bathroom. _

** Nami ** _   
_ _ And why aren't you with him? _

** Sanji ** _   
_ _._. _

** Vivi ** _   
_ _ XD _

** Sanji ** _   
_ _ What are you two up to? _

Nami and Vivi are in the joint bed, practically laying on top of each other while they text. 

“Should I tell him we are taking a bath together?” Nami grins, looking at Vivi and scratching her boob a little. This was the best thing about getting home. No bra.

Vivi giggles lightly, her cheeks slightly tinted. They had arrived home about half an hour ago, vlogged, changed, eaten a little and were ready to sleep. Nami lives in an apartment flat with Zoro and it is surprisingly clean. 

Nami’s room however, is not. Clean, that is. Which means Zoro is the one who kept the living room and kitchen hygienic enough to live in. Vivi though, is used to a spick and span room and she’s decided to get up a little early and unpack then. Maybe make Nami clean her closet as well when she does. 

“Why are you hellbent on giving him a nosebleed?” she asks the gingerhead, nestling her head a little more comfortably and grinning at Nami.

“It’s funny, is all. He should’ve been bi, the way he reacts to all this,” Nami snorts, typing an honest reply and telling others that they’re getting ready to sleep.

“I agree.” She sends a snooze smiley to compliment Nami’s statement on the group. “What time do you wake up?”

“Usually Seven. Sometimes six. You?”

“Six.”

“Okay well,” Nami shifted closer to vivi, yawning sprawling one hand over the tanned girl’s stomach, “brew me some coffee, honey!”

Vivi chuckled warmly as her phone vibrated with a reply from Sanji, “Sure, sweety!” She kisses Nami’s forehead.

** Sanji ** __   
_ Ah! Beauty sleep! *heart eyes* No wonder you two are so beautiful! _ _   
_ __ What about you, Bon? Ace?

** Bonney ** **   
** _ Sherlock marathon! _

** Ace ** **   
** _ And food!  _

** Nami ** **   
** _ haha! Enjoy guys. Vivi and me are turning in now!  _

**_ Vivi: _ ** **_   
_ ** _ Yeah, gn everyone! See you tomorrow! _

**_ Bonney _ ** **_   
_ ** _ Night!! _

** Ace ** _   
_ _ G’night! _

** Zoro ** **   
** _ Ciao! gn. _

** Bonney ** **   
** _ Oh hooo! The king emerges from his tent! _

** Ace ** **   
** _ All hail! _

** Nami ** **   
** _ All hail! _

** Vivi ** **   
** _ All hail! _

** Sanji ** **   
** ** _|_ **

** Bonney ** **   
** _ XD _

“Here.” Sanji shoves a plate of cheese sandwich under Zoro’s nose who looks at it warily. He exited the washroom in his briefs only and is sitting on Sanji’s bed, checking his phone before turning inputting for the night. He didn’t expect food, though he wants it. He had thought about asking Sanji but then thought better of it. 

He accepts the plate wordlessly, keeping his eyes low and set the phone aside.

“I prefer sleeping on the left,” Sanji says as he himself disappears into the bathroom and Zoro is once again a little taken aback of… what, really?

Sanji sighs as he finally gets to use the shower. He’s undressed in under a minute and standing under the hot water rivering down his skin and relaxing his muscles. His hair sticks to his face as he takes a few deep breaths and then starts scrubbing himself clean using his lemon bodywash, trying to clear his mind of all the negativity. 

Uptil now, things don’t seem as bad as he had expected them to be. He’d  been expecting Zoro to be interfering and not give him a moment’s peace but apart from a couple of icebreakers, the mosshead hasn’t really done anything to really get on his nerves… it’s different.

A minute later, however, when he walks out of the shower, towel-drying his hair and goatee, dressed in his sleeping pajama and undershirt, the barely collected positivity is thrown out the window.

Zoro is laying down on the right side of the bed (oh! Thank heavens for that!) and is  _ still  _ wearing nothing other than his black briefs.

“What in the blue brie… blazes do you think you’re doing?” Sanji practically cries, blushing again and hating himself for the slip up. 

Zoro jerks a little as he raises his head from his forearm. He fell in a sleep trance apparently. He looks at sanji in a haze of sleep, “what's wrong?”

“What's wrong? Have you no decency?! Why aren't you wearing something?”

Zoro’s eyes widen slightly as he looks down, as if in shock and then relaxes. He looks back at Sanji, a small frown set on his face. “I’m wearing boxers.”

Sanji’s can almost feel his brain short circuit and the fuse blow. “Oh...you are? I am so sorry. I just assumed you were naked,” he mocks rather flatly.

Zoro shrugs, “huh, well, not my fault you're a pervert.” He turns around and pulls the double comforter up to his hips. Correction: barely concealed, tan hips. 

Not for the first time that day, Sanji flips and Zoro gasps out of his almost asleep state as a pillow hits the back of his head with more force than should be possible for one.

“What the fuck cook!?” he growls as he sits up and rounds to face a towering Sanji with an authoritative menacing aura.

“You don't get to sleep without clothes in my bed, bastard.”

“It's our bed, dipshit. And I am wearing my underwear! Be glad that's there.”

“Don't you dare. Get some pants on, moss for brains!”

“I will not. It is suffocating.”

“My house, my rules. Wear some pants!”

“ _ Our _ house cook! Compromise a little here. That's not how a marriage works.”

“Marriage my ass!”

“Your white and tight ass?”

“Better than your bubble butt!”

“What?”

“What?”

Silence falls between the two men, both blushing suddenly and unable to meet eyes. Sanji hates spiders… but they now look like better  _ companions _ to be stuck with.

The silence grows dense and both men are still paralysed, staring at each other’s shoulder, probably waiting for the other--or better yet, himself--to drop dead.

And in that silence, Marilyn Manson’s  _ This Is The New Shit _ is the most welcoming tune to be heard. Sanji jumps to his phone like his life depends on it while Zoro shoots around faster than a bullet, pulling the covers on to the top of his head.

Sanji shoots him a furtive glance and answers Bonney’s call, “hey! Wh - What's up?” Fuck! His voice is dripping with embarrassment and hesitance.

“Ace wants to see you naked!” Bonney’s voice sings through the headpiece and Sanji almost drops his phone.

“What!?” he shrieks, “what is fucking wrong with everyone!” Is the world finally going nuts? It’s too soon for the apocalypse! 

He hears Ace and Bonney break out into fits of laughter and out of the corner of his eye he sees Zoro’s head pop out though he doesn’t turn around.

“Okay... I’m sorry,” Bonney speaks between pants. Sanji can still hear Ace laughing in the back. He pities Bonney’s cats just then, “what happened? Did you walk in on Zoro naked?”

“What? No!” Sanji likes to think his voice comes out manly and authoritative but Ace breaking out into a fresh fit of laughter doesn’t support that confidence,  “I didn’t…” he takes a deep breath, reassuring himself. “What has  _ that _ got to do with what you just said?” he hisses.

“We two just thought of doing a ‘BFFs see each other naked’ video… to just… promote some openness to body image!”

Sanji frowns thoughtfully, not realizing the tension sweeping off him. That...actually sounds like a good idea. He’s met countless girls who’ve hated their bodies simply because of magazines or TV models, while being perfectly...well, perfect. Even men are no different. He has met a few who don't feel comfortable with who they are. 

Hell! There are moments when he has low self-confidence because he’s never been able to build up as much muscle mass as he’d want - though it wasn't something he stressed too much on.

The idea really does sound cool… and embarrassing. Though, really, he’s already seen Ace  _ almost _ naked multiple times. The other man has very little shame, especially when it comes to his own body. Sanji knows for a fact that if allowed, he would come to work in nothing but cargo shorts and his favourite running shoes.

“Sounds cool,” he finally answers. “You guys thinking of shooting tomorrow? “

“Yeah… Was thinking that Vivi and I can do it and so can Nami and Robin. Could you ask Zoro if he is in? He’s paired  with Luffy?”

“Uhhhhh….” Sanji glances at Zoro’s still ‘too stiff to be asleep’ frame and decides against asking the man. “You’ll have to ask him tomorrow. The bastard’s already drooling on my pillow… it’s tempur pedic, asshole,” he adds towards the algae head pretending to be asleep.

“Great! Then we’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Bonney says excitedly, “Goodnight!” 

“You too.” Sanji sighs and turns his ringer volume down once the call is cut. He makes sure his alarm is turned on and set to six a.m. though he is pretty sure his snooze button will be overused in the morning. It’s almost 3.30 a.m. He wordlessly climbs into bed, making sure no part of his body is touching Zoro’s, and takes a deep breath, trying to control his heart rate and colour that he know is filling his cheeks.

He can’t relax, not with Zoro’s heat radiating warmth into his covered back. He’s starkly aware of the other man’s presence, so strange and out of place in his bed. It’s uncomfortable, weird and unwelcome. 

But he doesn't get too much time to dwell on it. He is tired as hell, and after a few minutes, he hears the soft snores coming from the other side.  He finally relaxes enough, readjusting his pillow and fanning out his damp hair behind him. A minute later, he’s in a deep dreamless sleep.

**_ To Be Continued... _ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> dangit96.tumblr.com  
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> Hope you lovelies enjoyed this chapter as well! ^_^


	4. I Like the Way You Work It, No Diggity!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moshi moshi everyone! Hope you're having a great day and may this chapter add to it! :D 
> 
> Enjoy!

************Sanji has always been a morning person. He usually wakes up at six sharp and happily ends the alarm before it even starts playing the first line of Macklemore’s Thrift Shop. Next comes a good jog followed by a warm bath and healthy breakfast. By 8 a.m., he is ready for work and locking the main door.

Today is different. The sunlight hits his eyes and he stirs in the warmth that surrounds him, nestling further into the coziness and taking a deep breath before relaxing. The arm around his waist tightens and pulls him closer as the owner’s body presses itself more into him, humming a deep morning moan in his ear. Sanji readjusts his legs to accommodate for the one pressed between his, allowing the thigh to run over his own, grinding him a little in the process. 

It feels good, the warmth, the hum in his ear, the arm around his waist holding onto him possessively, the soft breath tickling his neck and the nose pressed behind his ear. It feels good to wake up to…

Sanji’s eyes snap open, the sunlight blinding him as his heart races and a gasp escapes him. 

“WHAT THE FUCK!” he screams, kicking back into the shins of the practically naked mosshead cuddling him hard enough to receive a sleep surprised ‘whazza?’ in his ear. Close… too close, enough to make him more uncomfortable than he already is. Not to forget the morning wood that is currently pressed against his ass. 

“GET OFF ME! YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!” Another uncontrolled scream, an elbow to the stomach, a second kick blindly aimed at the shins, and the arm around him loosens and pulls back. Sanji scrambles out of the sheets,  his hair a mess and face red with anger and embarrassment. Zoro is no different, and though his color usually protects him from embarrassing blushes, there is no color that can hide the red that’s currently brushed all over his face and exposed skin.

Sanji takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and tries to calm himself down to no avail. “You… are going to wear clothes and stick to your side of the bed from tonight on,” he hisses, enunciating every word so it is practically hammered into that moss-sprouting skull. “Is that understood?”

Zoro has the decency to nod like a scolded puppy and looks to the side, bringing his hands up to rub his face. Frustrated and unsatisfied, Sanji turns around and storms out the room into the bathroom to improve the horrifying start of the day. The sunlight is proof that he will be missing his jog today. That’s just  _ great _ .

As he showers and gets busy rubbing out the moss drool from his hair, a part of Sanji - one that is being furiously ignored - misses the warmth that was draped over him just two minutes ago. And no matter how hard he rubs the shampoo into his head, the knot in some corner of his head is not coming undone. 

At the end of the shower - which takes an unusual half an hour - he has calmed down enough to not rub his skin off himself while he dries up. He wraps the towel around his hips and strides off towards his closet.

Judging by the soft snores coming from his room, it’s safe to assume the mosshead has fallen asleep again. That’s not surprising, and Sanji is internally thankful for it. He can’t deal with Zoro for now. Maybe later in the day when he’s forgotten the feeling of waking up to a peni…. he needs to get dressed. That’s what he needs to do.

As he shifts into work clothes- a casual checkered shirt and a pair of his black jeans - Bonney’s suggestion comes back to mind. Watching BFFs naked.... The idea of watching anyone naked today is getting a little unnerving for him let alone his best friend. His heart sinks a little, knowing there’s no way out of it now.

He tries distracting himself by going to his safe-haven and planning out the meal plan for the day. He has to keep in mind that he and Zoro have to have five meals together throughout the week and going by the follow-up questions they had asked Robin and Franky, the meals they have with their friends don’t count. So if he intends on having those meals, he will have to plan one meal daily that the two can have together. 

Breakfast is not an option today, he isn’t going to wake up Zoro. No way in hell. The events of last night flood his mind again and he shudders. Who sleeps almost naked? And by the pathetic argument Zoro had placed last night, it seems like he skips even that last article of clothing when he’s alone. Is Sanji supposed to be glad he had a clothed erection pressed up his butt instead of a bare-skinned one?

The embarrassment of the situation starts to fill his cheeks again before he can stop it, the anger weirdly nowhere to be found. Sanji shakes his head. There was no way he’s going to allow  _ that _ to ruin the rest of his day. He tries to find the zen that’s usually so easy to find in his kitchen.

Kitchen. Cooking. Breakfast. Yes. Focus.

He wals to his kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, the lean muscle on his arm flexing with every flick of his wrist as he ponders over the fillings for an egg roll and looks inside the beautiful fridge he had purchased when he bought the house.

As the ingredients enter his mind, his hands find them with practiced ease. Chicken, bacon, carrots, spring onions, cheese, milk, steamed rice, chicken broth and not to forget, the eggs. 

The kitchen cabinets come next and it barely took another minute for him to extract the flour, sesame seeds, black pepper, salt, chilli flakes, ginger powder, bread crumbs, cinnamon and a few more seasonings to add to the kitchen counter.

The pots and pans are set on the stove with another few quick movements and Sanji, finally in his element, ties his partially dry hair in a small knot - ready to cook the heaviest and most important meal of the day.

Sanji has been a cook and hairstylist on YouTube for five years now. And he was already well versed in the art of cooking two years before that. His hands move with an ease and grace that some of the most famous chefs can’t achieve. His usual breakfast cooking time is ten minutes - and they were always healthy and heavy - surprisingly quick to cook and involves the use of most of the leftovers that can be found in every household. 

Fifteen minutes later, he’s dunking two mouth-watering fried egg rolls on an absorbing napkin and setting all the utensils in the dishwasher, having already set the seasonings and flour back in the cabinet while the rolls deep fried, not a single second wasted. He takes the cutting knife and cuts one of the egg rolls in half, allowing the steam to escape and then sets both the uncut and cut pieces on a plain white serving dish. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he clicks the pic and while it uploads on his Instagram with the caption ‘On fleek!’ with a few hashtags, he separates his portion from Zoro’s and sets the mosshead’s share in the heated oven to keep it warm.

He sits down to eat his own share on the couch, enjoying the crunch and oil fill his mouth with a mix of flavours, sipping on the thickened stew and feeling guilty for having missed his jog. It usually makes up for the calories he takes in the morning. Maybe he can go to the gym in the evening, if the video is hopefully done with by five.

By the time he’s finished, he’s in a rush. He adds his plate to the washer and hurries to use the mouthwash before brushing through his hair and leave them be for the day. Shoes on, Ray Ban shielding eyes from the sun and contouring his long face, phone and wallet in pockets, car keys in between his teeth, he is just about to lock the main door when he realises that Zoro will need a set of keys to lock the house whenever he leaves. 

He pauses, hunched softly over his lock with the key pressed between his index finger and thumb - halfway in the process of locking the house. He contemplates leaving Zoro locked inside, then remembers that the lock can be opened from the inside. Which means that unless he leaves a bunch of keys with Zoro, his house will be an open treasury for thieves and burglars. 

He can wake up Zoro though… wait for him to get ready and then leave… The memory of arms tightening around his torso came back to him and he shudders. Nope. Not waking the mossmonster yet.

Grunting and thumping his head on the door thrice, he mutters and convinces himself that it is a smart choice to leave Zoro with a copy of his house keys. Taking a deep breath, he enters his house again and grabs the copies he keeps hidden above the fridge and walks to his room. 

Zoro is snoring, his lower half thankfully still under the covers as he cuddles into a pillow. It’s… weird to see Zoro like this. Vulnerable and without the usual mocking scowl, eyebrows relaxed and body curled in a protective manner around Sanji’s beddings, muscles relaxed and colour beautifully enhanced by the sunlight falling on his back through the window in the room. 

Sanji shakes his head - he seems to doing that a lot this morning - and quickly places the keys on the bedside shelf, next to Zoro’s white Samsung S4, then heads out again, taking out his phone and typing a quick text to the moss man. He had actually thought of leaving a note but that feels weird. Besides, he has to send four texts to Zoro throughout the day, and what better way to start?

Having to leave a copy of his keys with Zoro makes him feel extremely uncomfortable as he opens his garage gates. He takes another couple of deep breathes before getting inside his car. He needs to vent. It’s just nine a.m., so Bonney and Ace are probably not awake yet.Well, might as well vlog. He has a camera clip that lets him set up the camera on the dashboard to film himself without having to use his hands or look away from the road - it’s safe.

Extracting his Sony RX100 MK iii from the camera bag on the passenger seat, Sanji sets it up on the clips and turns it on, flipping the LCD to check if he’s visible despite the sunlight. Well… he looks fine. Hair pulled back and away from his face, revealing his broad forehead, the goggles hiding his eyes and eyebrows, leaving his lips in centerview. Yup, he looks fine.

Knowing very well that the vlog will be edited later on to fit with the entire video, he doesn’t bother with the usual greetings to his viewers, going straight into ranting mode.

“So it’s about nine in the morning, and the walking algae is still asleep,” Sanji says as he backs out of his driveway, allowing the camera to record the parting of his shirt and a splendid view of his neck and cream pectorals as he turns to see the road and his car beeps the reverse tone in the background. “For some God forsaken reason, Zoro has an aversion to clothes while sleeping, so I was forced to suffer next to the damn furnace.” 

He glances at the camera when he turns to look forward again - to see that he’s still in frame - then quickly moves his eyes back to the road. Should he talk about the...uh, wood problem? A shot of his cheeks reddening is recorded… which he is too distracted to realize. Maybe he shouldn't mention it... that sounds too personal. Besides, morning wood is a natural process of every man, it’s not like it had anything to do with Zoro  _ or _ Sanji. He’s unnecessarily overthinking it.

“All I’m saying is,” he waves his hand for a second, as if fanning the immature thoughts out of his mind, “if I’m sleeping in someone else’s bed, I’m not doing it half naked,” Sanji says instead, scowling. “That’s just common decency.” 

He pressed on the brakes, slowing down as he reached the first light on the way to work. “I hope my beautiful ladies are having a better morning than I am.” 

He smiles at the camera and leans a bit into it, sliding the aviator on his sleek nose with a long finger and winking at the camera before pushing it back up. The lights turn green and he pushes on the accelerator, using one hand to put the car in gear and then giving the camera a last smile before turning it off.

  
  


There are many ways to wake up in the morning… Your alarm goes off and you curse the earth for spinning, your dog could bark in your ear - demanding you to let him out for a morning relief, your parents start cleaning the house with as much noise is possible - making you feel the entire issue of noise pollution is because of them… maybe you could fall on the floor as you roll a bit too much and hurt your bum and elbow.

OR you wake up because your sleep induced body feels the need to pee bad enough to wake you from your dreams - doesn't matter if they are horror, baseless or wet.

Which is why Bonney wakes up on her couch with a huge grunt that interrupts her loud snoring, shaking her head and blinking her eyes open to the strong sunlight hitting her face. She groans a little, raising her head from the awkward angle it is laying on the couch edge, moving her shoulders to relieve the stressed out muscle - she can feel her neck muscle spasming. 

The LCD is displaying the many series her hard disk contained, Sherlock highlighted with a blue outline. She blinks a little in confusion before the night’s events come back to her. Right. Sherlock marathon. She fell asleep mid way. 

Feeling a weight on her thighs she looks down to see Ace’s head resting on them as he sleeps, all silent, no snore. He’s shirtless, one arm falling on the floor in line with her leg and face turned towards the TV screen, tanned back muscles relaxed and his hair partially falling over his face, revealing the scratches her cats had left on his neck the previous day.

The same cats who are currently sleeping with him as if he’s their personal furnace. Whiskers is curled up on his back, rising and falling with Ace as he breathes deeply while Thomas lays partially on Bonney’s remaining thigh with his head nestling on Ace’s, furs and whiskers mixed with hair.

She grins and smothers a laugh, not wanting to disturb Ace. But the sight is so cute and holding the laugh in her heart and stomach reminds her that she really needs to pee.

Moving slowly and carefully, she cups and lifts Ace’s head and shifts, dislodging Whiskers in the process who stares at her like she cancelled Christmas then proceeds to walk on top of Ace’s head and jumps to his hips, prowling to nestle in the bent knee and starts to lick himself all over. 

Ace scrunches his nose and eyes, murmuring something, obviously disturbed by having a cat walk and jump all over him. Bonney hurriedly shifts from under him placing a cushion in place of her thigh and runs her fingers through his hair, watching the man’s features relax and lull back into sleep.

She smiles to herself as she stands up stretching and yawning. She picks her phone from the couch arm, notices a couple of chips in the bowl and stuffs them in her mouth before padding barefoot to the bathroom, scratching the morning itch on her butt with her free hand on the short trip.

She relieves herself, finally feeling awake and proceeds to brew some coffee in the kitchen, still in a muted manner. Ace is snoring really softly now. She checks the time, 10.03 a.m.. Hmmm… that's early for her. She glances at the couch again, the scene no different than when she left except now Whiskers is sleeping again.

She smiles again and turns on the video recorder on her Samsung S6 on front camera mode. 

“God… I’ve looked better,” she whispers, taking in her puffy eyes, “anyways, I just woke up. Ace and I fell asleep on the couch yesterday, watching Sherlock. So far, I would say this is going well.” She gives the video a thumbs up then continues, “also, I think my cats are really getting along with Ace despite scratching the hell out of him last night. Let me show you.”

She flips the setting to back camera as she tiptoes towards Ace. “I think that's the cutest thing I have even woken up to,” she whispers, making sure her cats and Ace all come in the frame. 

“Of course I wished he wore a tee,” she adds before stopping the recording and WhatsApping both the files to Law. She knows he will ask for the originals the moment he sees her again, ranting off about ‘compressed files’ and ‘reduced resolution’ - but she doesn’t care.

Bonney usually likes taking showers at night to let her hair air-dry, but she forgot all about it yesterday. So she walks to her closet and selects simple jeans and a tank top before getting into the shower.

The warm water is comforting on her neck and shoulders, which are still a little cramped from sleeping on the couch. She brushes her teeth, scratches her back, rubs more life in her face and washes her hair, Floria’s  _ Low  _ echoing in her head as she sings along to him, treating the Pantene conditioner bottle as her mic as its contents return the moisture that the shampoo stole. 

She leaves the shower ten minutes later, wrapping her hair in a dry towel and patting the rest of herself dry with another one, then deposits both on the hamper. Slithering into her underwear and putting on her bra come next, followed by her wiggling into her jeans. She has to blow dry her hair today so the top will have to wait. 

Fifteen minutes of hot air welding her hair straight later, Bonney is looking at herself in the mirror, face already primed and set, eyeshadow somewhat blended but light enough that it looks pretty either way. She picks a black waterproof kohl pencil and lines both her upper and lower waterline with intense concentration. Done, she sighs and looks at the liquid liner kept on the washroom counter, sitting there like it’s challenging her to use it. She can totally rock the look without it.

But it’s almost impossible for her to attempt even the smallest of cat eye liner with the thick and smudgy tip of the kohl pencil. 

“I’m gonna regret this…” she mutters to herself, looking at her currently perfect eyes in the mirror and untapping the liner pen. “Okay… let's try this.” She bends forward slightly, mouth automatically parting softly, and brings the daunting pen to her eye, ready to draw that perfect elusive thin line that’ll make her eyes look a hundred times better.

There is pin drop silence as the felt tip touches her lid as she starts at the center, going out to the outer corner before very carefully following the path of her lower lash up towards the corner of her eyebrow, when pained yell suddenly sounds in the complete silent house; her whole body jerks in surprise and she pokes herself in the eye before spreading the mess to the edge of her temple - her hand still acting like a scared cat.

“FUUUCK!!! HOLY FUCKING MOTHER OF FUCKING JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!” she screams as the pain overcomes her ability to speak anything other than obscenities, letting go of the liner in the sink, splattering it with black streaks and pressing her palm on her watering and aching eye. “WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK, ACE!?”

She gropes around for her door, her other eye also watering as she tries to make sense of which direction she should turn in to get to Ace. Is there a fucking murderer in the house or something? Why the fuck isn’t he replying? If this is a fucking fucked up trick, she is going to fucking kick Ace in his fucking balls for it.

Finally finding the knob, she unlocks the door and stumbles her way to the living room, trying her level best not to rub the throbbing eye into her skull and control the blinking of the other one. 

Ace is not on the couch when she reaches it, just Thomas and Whiskers sitting imperially, glaring at her with twin unimpressed stares. She looks at them suspiciously through one blurred eye - they usually do this when they’ve broken something or when she’s scolding them - as she walks around the couch. Her foot catches on to something and she falls boobs first on the carpeted floor, missing the coffee table edge by a mere inch. 

But the hit she expects never comes as she lands on a comparatively soft surface though still hard and weirdly cushion smooth at the same time. 

“Umph!” Ace’s voice sounds muffled under her as she realises she just landed on him and the thing she tripped on was probably Ace’s foot. He’s shaking underneath her, his face pressed into the floor and hands covering his face. 

“Ace…?” Bonney raises herself with some difficulty, the pain in her eye receding to a mild throb though still burning like a bitch. When she gets no reply, but the shaking increases, she tries to turn the raven haired man over - a difficult task since the man is pure muscle despite all the junk he eats. “What’s wrong? Ace? Are you crying?”

Ace turns around finally, his head coming to rest on her lap as he looks up at her, surprising her with the wide grin on his face that was sporting scratches and a few tears streaming down his cheek. 

“The kids scratched me off the couch, honey.”

Bonney blinks then shoves his head off her, making him laugh a bit more. His back is covered in even more scratches than before. Just what is the problem with her cats? He turns back resting his head on her again and looks up at her, “your eye is flaming red. Did you get hurt?” 

He raises his hand and touches the cheek under her eye, sitting up a little in the process. 

“No, you big dope! It’s your fault!” she speaks, all the anger that she wants to put behind her  words not making it’s way out, making her sound like she is playfully placing blame. At the look of confusion in Ace’s chocolate brown eyes, she rolls her eyes, surprised by the way it hurts. “You screamed like you were being gutted. I poked myself with my eyeliner.” 

“Fuck, sorry,” Ace mutters, suddenly starting to get on his feet, “need a cool compress for that...” he mutters to himself as he walks over to the kitchen sink and Bonney suppresses a laugh as he scratches his butt too.

“What’re you doing?” she calls out, her eye and head still aching a little. 

“Nothing, just gotta dab your eye with something cool or it’s gonna swell more than it already has. Also,” he looks up as he dampens some kitchen roll under the faucet, “amazing cat eye! You’d put Selena Gomez to… fuck! SORRY!” He ducks down in time to avoid the cushion thrown at him. 

“IT’S YOUR FUCKING FAULT!”

“IT’S YOUR CATS’S FAU..!” He ducks another cushion that happily messes the spice bottles it hits. Ace’s head pops again, grinning, “you’re ruining your own kitchen you know?”

Obviously seeing sense, Bonney settles for glaring daggers at Ace, which (though Ace doesn't say it) actually looks cute. Her cats, who are staring between them warily, meow a little so Bonney scratches Whisker behind his ear and he happily starts to close his eyes and purr while Thomas just curls up on her lap while still glaring at Ace.

“They don't like me, do they?” Ace says as he sits next to Bonney and places the sodden piece on her swollen eye.

“They're not used to humans other than me or mom,” Bonney comments idilly, holding the damp paper in place as she turns to look at Ace, “besides, if you don't wanna be scratched, you sleep with clothes.” She grins at him.

Ace snorts, “you're no different right now.”

“Wha…”

Realisation comes to Bonney and her face goes red when the fact that she rushed out in her jeans and bra hits her. She is sitting partially naked in her living room with her best friend. The only reason this is not too embarrassing is because, Sanji, Ace and she have been to the beach together tons of times and the three are really comfortable with each other's  _ skin. _

“Wow… I never realised you can blush almost as fast as Sanji does.” Ace is still grinning at her and Bonney can't help but snort.

“The cats should attack your eyes next. Speaking of which, the scratches are bleeding.” She stands up and walks to the hallway, setting whiskers and Thomas aside on the couch when she gets up. When she turns a little, Ace is staring at them as they look back at him again. 

“Ace?” 

He looks up at her, “yes?”

“Those scratches need cleaning. Get up.” She walks back to the bathroom, finds her top and slips it on after disposing of the damp roll. She looks at herself in the mirror… her makeup is a mess and the eye is pretty swollen. No way is she applying makeup on it today. She sighs as Ace appears on the door way. 

“Sit on the lid,” she points at the pot in the bathroom and Ace proceeds to do just that as she pulls out a few cotton balls and squirts out some spirit on it. “Got your phone?” she asks, as she turns to him and hooks her finger under his chin and makes him look up at her. The scratches aren't too deep, but enough to bleed. 

“Yup.”

She glances up at his eyes again and sees they are looking at her. “Okay, call Nami and ask her if she is on board with the vid today.” She presses the disinfectant on the scratch and Ace gasps a little, shutting his eyes.

“I hate your damn cats.” 

  
  


“I had no clue I even had all these at the back of my closet,” Nami groans as she picks yet another pair of jeans and folds them before placing it in the donation box. Three of those are already full with other clothes she doesn't use anymore and Vivi is snickering, recording Nami grumble as she cleans her closet. 

“When was the last time you cleaned your closet?” she asks, her voice calm and mellow. She has been helping her ‘wife’ of course but she needed a break. They have been at this for about three hours now. 

“Uh…” Nami looks at her, darting her tongue out to wet her lower lip. “I don’t know… Three months?” she shrugs, grinning her dazzling smile at the camera. She looks cute in her white shorts and blue slips, hair tied in a braid by Vivi and sitting in between all her clothes. 

Vivi chuckles back, pressing stop and flops her iphone on the bed, looking heavenly as always in her morning dress  - being a designer, she actually designed clothes to wear when you were at home and still look beautiful. 

“Alright, that’s the last pair right?” 

“Hmmm…” Nami gives the mess a passing glance and nods, “Yup! Just need to get these,” she points to a bunch of clothes on the right, “into dry cleaning and then these,” the ones on the right, “back in the closet.” She grins at Vivi, “I’ll leave some space for you of course.”

Vivi smiles back, lifting one of the donation boxes. “Alright, well, I’ll put these in the car and then help you.” She walks out the room and Nami sighs and sprawls over the clothes, extracting her Blackberry. She is about to unlock it when Ace’s grinning face pops up on the screen. 

Smiling, she answers it, “hello handsome. What’s up?”

“Morning gorgeous. Nothing, got scratches all over me. What’re you up to?”

“Scratches…” Nami snorts, “I’m cleaning my closet. Wifey needs space to put her stuff.”

“Why not just dump it on top of yours?”

Nami grins, she had said the same thing to Vivi when the blue haired girl asked her to clean some space for her. It was followed by an arched eyebrow and then ten faults that the closet had. There could have been more had Nami not just waved her hands and agreed to cleaning up. 

“She said there wasn’t enough space for even that!” 

Ace laughs and Nami accompanies him, “alright, well… Bonney and I had this idea. We’re hoping that you and Vivi will be on board with it?”

Nami grabs a strand of her hair and plays with it, “shoot.”

“Best friends seeing each other naked.”

Nami sits up straight, a huge grin etched on her face and eyes gleaming. “I get to see Robin naked?” 

“Yup!”

“I’ve been waiting for this my entire life, Ace.”

Ace snorts. “You’re welcome! She’s cool with it,” she hears him add to someone - probably Bonney. Vivi enters the room just then and bends to pick the second box. “Oh and if Vivi is there, ask her too! She’s with Bonney.”

Nami can’t grin harder than she already is. “Honey,” she says and Vivi looks up at her, still bent, leaving her cleavage on full display. Nami’s eyes zeros on them immediately, forgetting that she had something to say and feels her cheeks redden up a little.

“Yeah?” Vivi asks, rising a little, her heaven moving with her and Nami forces her gaze away from them.

“Uh....” she blinks, recollecting her thoughts, “want to be naked.?. I mean, shit. No.”

Vivi raises her eyebrows at her, “you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just... Ace is on call. He’s asking if you want to do a video where you see Bonney naked.”

“Uh…. Sure!” Vivi shrugs and proceeds to carry the second box out, nonchalant as ever. 

“Uh… she has to get naked too, y’know?” Ace speaks with uncertainty, “might want to mention that.” 

“I don’t think she’ll care as long as she gets to see Bonney naked,” Nami grins again. Vivi is not as perverted as she is but she  _ is  _ a lesbian after all. She will never pass the chance of seeing someone like Bonney naked. The lady had been the hot talk ever since she joined OneFeed - even for the straight girls. “But I’ll ask her and send you a text. She just left the room.”

“Sure! We’ll see you at three! Bye!”

“Bye.” 

 

_...Same song again and again, you wrong me twice and I keep comin back. Tell me what the matter is little man, I got a pretty face and I wear a nice dress… _

Somewhere in his head, Zoro knows that he is slowly walking back to reality from a dreamless sleep, the darkness around him starting to lighten as his senses registers his ringtone playing somewhere. He shifts, bringing the pillow to cover his face from the light already starting to blind him as he groans. He takes a deep breath and suddenly sits up, flinging the pillow aside in surprise. 

It smells like the damn coconut shampoo the blond uses. He forgot he is living with the man. Wild Belle keeps ringing as grumbles and gets off the bed, his head hurting and body still fatigued. He sighs again before he stands up and walks to the bathroom to relieve himself and then proceed to take a shower - which barely takes five minutes.

He takes his jeans off the hook behind the door and fits into them after he slips in the same briefs from last night, not caring to change into new ones because he changed last night and would have to change again after his workout. 

He brushes his teeth, a little disgruntled that he is still tired, taking in his puffy eyes and then proceeds out of the bathroom, shirtless. 

It’s silent in the house and Zoro is pretty sure that Sanji has left already. The man is known to be punctual. Yawning, he reaches the kitchen and noses around a bit till he finds some cinnamon flavoured coffee beans. Stifling yet another yawn, he adds some to the crusher and once it is finely powdered, he extracts some and adds it to the coffee brewer, adding some water to it. 

He turns to the fridge next, hoping the cook doesn’t have a lock on it and is relieved to find that no such measures were taken. Opening the door, he looks inside and is immediately overwhelmed. Everything is neat and organised. Dairy products, produce, meat, preservatives, liquids, alcohol… everything is arranged beautifully and not a single thing seems out of place despite the fact that the fridge doesn’t have even the slightest space free.

Zoro feels a little awkward, he doesn’t want to unknowingly do something in this kitchen that’ll piss the cook off. The man is certainly big on hygiene and personal space and Zoro had already cuddled him, messing up the latter on day one itself. 

He knows that even though it wasn’t too big a deal for him, Sanji had probably freaked out - he would have too, had he woken to Sanji cuddled around him instead. He shakes his head, trying to forget how  opening his eyes to blond hair and the smell of coconuts had been sort of comfortable. That is, until he was elbowed in his solar plexus and kicked in the shins, the cook's struggle stimulating some hard places unknowingly.

His stomach growls suddenly, bringing him back to reality. He ignores the small goosebumps he’s covered in, looks inside the fridge again and decides to cook bacon - he can do that, just cook some bacon and eat the damn fat with coffee and then be off to work. He won’t destroy Sanji’s kitchen in the process.

Twenty minutes later, Zoro is eating the rather unfilling breakfast - he manages not to burn the bacon and wash the pan before he started eating. He hopes to pass a McDonalds on his way to work as he sips the coffee which is doing almost nothing to ease his headache. 

He can do with some really heavy food and high fat content - no matter how unhealthy it is. The video he recorded two days ago tired him more than he thought it could. Maybe some Pepsi too?

Meal finished, Zoro washes the rest of the dishes in the sink and places everything back from where he took it. He struts to the closet next and extracts one of his t-shirts before getting back in the bedroom and collecting his phone and wallet. He finds a bunch of keys lying innocently next to them - they weren’t there before and he pauses to stare at them. 

Those look like the house and garage keys he had seen Sanji use yesterday, just with a different keychain - Manchester United logo. Raising an eyebrow to himself, he picks it up and looks at it as if he had never seen keys in his life before. 

His phone ring again and Zoro jumps a little, startled and looks at the wide screen before answering the call, “Ace?”

“Hey man! Where have you been? Bonney and I have been calling you since the last one hour.”

“Sorry bout that. What’s up?” Zoro is not trying to be rude but his headache is increasing and the damn coffee didn’t help. He really needs something heavy to eat. 

“Do you want to be a part of the best friends see each other naked video? It’s to promote a healthy body image and be comfortable in our own skin,” Ace speaks softly yet fast enough to show that he knows Zoro wants to cut the call.

“Uh… Luffy and I?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure, I’m in. When are you shooting?”

“Today at three.”

“Alright. Will see you then.”

“See ya!” 

Zoro cut the call and is about to pocket his phone when he sees a text notification - not a whatsapp but an actual text notification - from Sanji. Surprised, he taps in his passcode and opens the message.

**_Sanji Pervert:_ **

_ Breakfast is in the oven, try not to grace me with leftovers. Keys are yours to lockup before you leave. Don’t forget to shut the garage once you’ve exited. And don’t forget to check the lights and gas before you leave as well. Dinner/Lunch has to be done together, let me know which and if you want something specific to go with your workout. Ciao! _

Zoro blinks down at the text. Breakfast is in the oven? Sanji cooked for him too? He walks to the kitchen again, this time fully dressed and opens the oven and sure enough, there seems to be some sort of soup and an egg roll kept in there to keep it warm. His stomach growls as he bends and extracts the meal, setting it on the counter before cutting the eggroll in different sizes and grabbing a fork. 

He walks to the small dining table and starts to eat, dipping each piece in the stew before popping it in his mouth and chewing on it. He’ll be damned. It’s the most delicious breakfast he’s ever ate! He takes his time eating it, savouring every bite and feeling his stomach fill and headache dull a bit. 

This is extremely unexpected. Despite probably disliking Zoro, Sanji had left him breakfast and his keys. They aren’t really a couple, he didn't have to do this, but he did and Zoro feels a surprising warmth fill his chest when he realises Sanji probably trusts him more than Zoro would have thought. He isn’t being presumptuous and thinking Sanji trusts him with his life or anything, but there’s definitely some mutual respect here that he hadn't noticed up until now.

As he takes the final bite, he decides to not be as big an ass to Sanji as he usually is. 

 

**_To be continued..._ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the tumblr prompts. We read it and if we decide to include any, we will pm you and even give you credits here!
> 
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	5. Baby Got Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Otsile-K! It always makes me so happy seeing your comments in all of my stories, and they always motivate me to keep writing! I really can’t express just how much your support means to me. More than a birthday present, this is a small thank you for every single comment, and every single moment you spent reading my stories. Hopefully, you will like it!  
> \- Dangit
> 
> Many many happy returns of the day, Otsile - K! Enjoy your day to the fullest and allow this fic to hopefully be a part of it!  
> -ZSL

**_Chapter Four_ **

**_Baby Got Back._ **

 

“How many times do I have to tell you that you should give me the actual file on a pen drive or just hand your phone over to me?”

“Two reasons, Law. One, I am a girl and don’t want perverted cameramen to get my kinky selfies. Two, it’s always fun to see your face swollen like a chipmunk like it is right now. The look really suits you, you know?”

Law blushes furiously as he stares at Bonney who is busy setting up a very, _very_ opaque screen behind which four pairs of best friends were going to see each others junk. It’s a wide rectangle that would cover a six foot  person standing behind it from pecs to knees. Law is going to be recording them again, being the perfect choice - he makes the people around him feel at ease and is impeccable with direction. He knows exactly which reactions to expect from whom and so is always successful in recording them.

Robin, Zoro, Ace and Luffy are already there. The shooting is supposed to start in the next fifteen minutes and everything is ready. Vivi is changing into a bathrobe in the changing rooms and Sanji and Nami are nowhere to be seen, a fact that’s starting to get on Law’s nerves.

“I could care less about your selfies,” Law mutters. “Where the hell are Sanji and Nami? How much time do they need to change into a bathrobe?”

“You’re talking about the two biggest divas in the world,” Zoro snorts, catching their attention. He’s already dressed in his bathrobe, a loose knot hiding the naked body underneath. Bonney is distracted by the sight of his marbled chest, the muscles rippling even on his pecs.

“Well, go find them,” Law snaps. “We only have the studio for a little while. Kidd has booked it next, and I do not want to deal with that jerk today.”

“I’ll go look for them!” Luffy exclaims, jumping to his feet, his robe tied so loose that it is on the verge of revealing stuff.

“I think it’s best I search for Nami,” Robin pipes in. “She won't appreciate being surprised by any of you.”

“Like I haven’t seen _her_ naked,” Zoro mutters. “She never remembers to lock the damn bathroom door.”

“I don’t care who, just _go_ ,” Law snaps.

“Let’s go, Zoro,” Luffy says, grabbing the hot man by the neck and dragging him away.

“Why do I have to go, you idiot!?”

“Because you’ve seen Nami naked already. Don’t spoil Robin’s surprise!” Luffy laughs, freeing him as they exit and laughter rings in the room behind them.

“So how’s it going between you and Sanji so far?” Luffy asks as they head to the changing rooms.

Zoro glances at Luffy, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“You guys are always having so much fun fighting, I thought this would be a breeze for you two!” Luffy explains. “Do you like being married to him?”

“What kind of logic is that and of fucking course not!” Zoro exclaims hotly. “What the fuck, Luffy? He’s annoying as all hell.”

“Yeah, but so are you,” Luffy shrugs and zoro stares at him incredulously.

“I am not… What…? You think I’m annoying?”

“Yeah. Very.”

Zoro fails in saying anything else, stuttering mindlessly. “Wha… how could you… I am not annoying!”

“You’re totally annoying!” Luffy laughs as he stops and looks around, not caring about how Zoro is behaving. “Also, it seems your habit is rubbing off on me. We came in the wrong direction!” He laughs again.

“Habit?”

Luffy hums as he turns around the way they came and Zoro follows him, half lost in his thoughts, trying to recall exactly when he had been _annoying_.

“You’re having fun though, right?” Luffy speaks suddenly, breaking his thought process. When he looks at Luffy, clueless, Luffy raises his eyebrows at him, “Being married to Sanji… It’s fun?”

“It’s not really a marriage Luffy...but…” Zoro frowns. If he’s being honest, this whole marriage thing is only a bother because he has to _live_ with Sanji. Zoro is a man of small comforts, so when he suddenly had to leave the peace of his home - despite he being the first one to agree to it - and move in with Sanji, it was like if a cat had suddenly been dumped in a tub full of freezing water.

Unpleasant, and someone was sure to end up hurt.

But other than that, things weren’t so bad. It was nice to eat a homemade, delicious breakfast instead of a hurried omelet and was nice to fall asleep with someone else next to him.

“It’s alright,” he finally replies, shrugging.

“You get to eat Sanji’s delicious food every day,” Luffy sighs dreamily. “That sounds more than alright.”

“Okay fine, drooling loverboy; why don’t you go check that side before you start salivating all over the place?” Zoro asks as they enter the changing room, pointing towards the locker area.

“Oi, Sanji!” Luffy yells loudly, bouncing off towards the lockers.

Zoro rolls his eyes and turns towards the changing area, wincing when Luffy yells more loudly.

“SANJI!!!”

“What do you want, you damn--fuck!”

Zoro’s vision is invaded by blond hair before he feels something hard and wet smack him in the chest and knock him down. His hands automatically reach for something--anything--to keep him grounded, and they wrap around something smooth yet sharp. He clenches onto them tightly and it was then that he registers the plushness and realizes he is gripping onto Sanji’s bare buttcheeks. He is too surprised to let go of them, so as he falls, Sanji getting pulled down with him, their hips joining and privates smacking together with a loud obscene noise as his loosely tied bathrobe comes undone.

For one terrifying moment, Zoro is frozen as he stares at Sanji’s eyes, so close to his own, the blue closing in around the black. His face is centimetres from touching, breath mingling and falling on the other’s lips, their chest pressed together - wet against sweat - complete but for where Sanji’s hands are tucked underneath himself, protecting them from the fall by using Zoro’s body as a shield.

For that short moment, Zoro can say that he knows what Sanji is physically. Long, lithe legs pressed between his own and hips full and compact like a swimmer’s, the limp member resting against his own, tight, toned abs that clashed with his, hands calloused, hard and rough as they rest against Zoro, neck long and elegant, the adam’s apple moving as the man gulps, and chin broad under the goatee that hides its sharpness, lips fullish and supple, nose slender and long, forehead no different and the curl in his eyebrow which becomes him.

Zoro realises then how every feature in the tall body is beautiful and how his own body is oddly comfortable with Sanji, fitting with every muscle, locking themselves in place like a puzzle.

And while he notices these small, new details, the blond is thinking none of it and the moment lasts for barely above a second before Sanji yells in his face.

“WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?”

Zoro snaps out of his trance and the retort is out of his lips before he even knows it, equivocal to the curly cue.

“WHY ARE YOU WET!?”

“What are you guys doing?”

Luffy’s voice came from above and the two turned their heads upwards in unison to see Luffy squatting down and staring at them, the trademark grin plastered on his face.

“You guys need some time alone?” he said as his grin widens even more, a suggestive hint in his eyes, making the two men stare back at him dumbfounded as they processed what their friend was saying.

As if on fire, the two of them jump away from each other, putting as much distance between themselves as they can - Sanji using Zoro’s pectorals for a full pushup before starting to tie the wet towel he dropped before around his waist as he gets to his feet while Zoro’s hands let go of those buttocks, slithering along the hip, and scrambles up while while trying to maintain a small level of decency, tying the bathrobe shut, this time tightly.

“What the fuck are you two doing here?” Sanji demands, so angry that he’s turning pale instead of red.

Luffy had started cackling and was struggling with standing straight as he held his stomach.

“We’re looking for you, dumbass!” Zoro snaps, his cheeks  displaying more color than Sanji’s at that moment. “Did you take a fucking shower? Didn’t you already take one!?”

“Wait, wait.” Luffy gasps, planting a hand on Zoro’s shoulder as he allows some air to reach his lungs, “are we going to ignore what just happened here?”

None of the six feet two inches men pay heed to the five feet seven one and continue like they heard nothing.

“Why the fuck do you care?” Sanji snaps back, voice oddly high and a little color coming back to his cheeks. Zoro blinks, surprised, and when Sanji looks away to avoid his gaze, Zoro eyes slide down and he notices something different.

“Did you... shave your legs?”

“What? No!”

“You did!” Luffy exclaims, laughing. “Wow, Sanji!”

“Shut up!” Sanji snaps. “Do you know how weird it is that I grow hair on my calves but not my thighs? It looks like I’m wearing hairy leg warmers!”

“It does!” Luffy starts laughing again, “I never thought of it that way before!”

“NOT helping, Luffy!”

“Do you always shave them?” Zoro asks, surprised by how curious he is. He knows Sanji is a well-groomed man - even his casual clothes were stylish though never extravagant - but he never thought it went to this extent. His mind wanders off to other areas that can be groomed and quickly snaps out of it. Nope. Don’t need to think about or imagine those. _Felt_ enough of that just a minute ago. Enough for one day. Thank you very much!

“Once every two weeks,” Sanji mutters. “I didn’t think about it until now. I’m not fucking going on YouTube with my yeti legs in full display.”

“You’re an idiot,” Zoro says flatly.

“Shut up!” Sanji snaps again. “What do you care with your hairless body? Don’t you think it’s weird you don’t grow hair at all except for the weed growing out of your head?”

“I don’t think so, yeti legs. And that’s not the only place they grow,” Zoro says, grinning evilly when Sanji’s face starts to redden.

“Well, this was fun to record,” Nami’s voice accompanied by a sound of camera shutting off surprises them and they crack their necks as they turn to look at her. “For a moment there, it was almost like you two were humping,” she grins her evil smile at them.

“Oh! You caught that on camera? You should give it to Law for the blooper reel!” Luffy exclaims, excitement written all over his face.

“That... is an amazing idea, Luffy!”

“No! It’s not!” Zoro growls and holds the neck of Luffy’s bathrobe with utter delicacy. “Is it, Luffy?”

Sanji snorts as Luffy looks at Zoro with pleading eyes. The damage is already done - once Nami has an idea that feeds her sadistic soul, she never let go of it.

“Well, aren’t we supposed to be shooting now?” Sanji interrupts them

“Oh, yeah… Law was getting pissed,” Luffy says, looking at him with thankful eyes. “Said the room was booked for Kidd next and we’re getting late.”

“Well, we don’t want to disturb other’s schedule, do we?” Nami states, “C’mon. Let’s go.”

They head back the filming room; Sanji doesn’t bother putting on a robe, since he’ll be getting naked soon anyway. So he keeps a tight grip on the knot tying the flimsy cloth around his body. He and Nami take the lead while mosshead and Luffy follow.

By the time they reach, Vivi’s already with the others and being ushered behind the screen under the lights glaring down on her and Bonney who had been complaining about the floor being slippery when Vivi joins her.

“You’re comfortable?” Bonney whispers and Vivi grins at her.

“Yes. Though I must admit I am surprised I haven’t seen you butt naked before now.”

There is a small beep which indicates that Law has started recording their conversation.

“I know.. It is surprising.” Bonney says, nodding thoughtfully, “we’ve been friends for… five years now?” She frowns, cocking her head sideways.

“Yes,” Vivi nods in agreement. “We actually met at a party and didn’t realize we worked in the same building until the next day,” she says, turning to the camera. “We were assigned on a project together that day, but Bonney was too hungover to do anything,”

“Vivi gave me an aspirin, fed me, and held my hair back as I puked in the bathroom,” Bonney remembers, grinning. “She was amazing.”

“Pretty sure I had a crush on you,” Vivi mutters, reddening up a little making Bonney laugh.

“How do you feel about today’s video?” Law asks from behind the camera motioning Nami - who had the hanging mic jammed in her hand the moment she entered - to hold the mic closer. He preferred to use the members involved in the video instead of his own crew, since he doesn’t want anyone - specially the ladies - to feel uncomfortable.

“Uh...I personally think girls are a lot more comfortable with their bodies amongst other girls,” Bonney says, frowning again. “I’ve changed in front many of my females friends, and they in front of me. It’s never been weird or anything.”

“Yeah… I agree. Although, being gay, I don’t really feel indifferent about it. There is always that small tap in the back of my head that the girl in front of me is going to see me naked and won’t feel the way I would feel had I been seeing her naked,” Vivi says, her hands expressing along with her. “I am not saying that when I see a girl, I have to necessarily feel sexual about it. But it’s what I do when I am being intimate with one so it does feel a little… different when those feelings aren’t there.”

“This will be interesting.” Zoro murmurs and Sanji and Luffy nod enthusiastically.

Law smirks, eyes still fixed on the camera screen, keeping both the divas in frame. “Alright girls. Time to lose the robes.”

Sanji and Nami perk up at the directional comment, Sanji’s eyes fixed on the two girls behind the screen that hides them from his and everyone’s view. Luffy starts laughing when he sees the hungry look on his face and Zoro coughs out a comment that’s most likely an insult, but Sanji is way too caught up with Vivi and Bonney to care.

He might be gay, but Vivi and Bonney are still two _very_ beautiful women.

“Okay; on one...two...three!”

Bonney and Vivi snap the bathrobes off their shoulders and for a moment there is silence. Then both the girls lower their eyes, fixing on the other’s chest.

“Oh my…” Vivi murmurs, in a daze.

“Wow…” Bonney replies, equally dazed as she starts to nod, “Okay… yeah. I would turn curious for that.”

Vivi blushes and looks up at Bonney while the pink haired girl continues to stare at her boobs, “Thanks! Yours are quite perky too. Wouldn’t say no to them if you offered!”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Bonney smiles widely and finally looks at her. “You know, I’m actually very surprised by how curvy you are. I mean, you have a lot more hips than I’d thought.”

“I sort of wear outfits meant to hide that because they make me self-conscious,” Vivi admits. “I hit puberty at a very early age, so I looked like I was eighteen when I was barely fourteen.”

“Men,” Bonney says, conveying a deep understanding with the single word. Vivi only half-smiles, half-grimaces, a confirmation if there ever was one.

“How do you guys feel basking in each other’s nakedness?” Law asks. Bonney wrote down a few questions for him to ask beforehand, but since they’re running short of time, he has to hurry through them.

“How poetic, Law!” Bonney grins at him. “It was just what I expected. I actually do feel closer to her now.”

“Me, too,” Vivi agrees, nodding her head. “I was a little scared at first, but...let’s look at the bright side: now you can check me for skin cancer.”

Bonney nods, looking thoughtful. “I’d do that in a heartbeat. You wanna get naked? I’m there; no questions asked. Maybe a naked hug?”

“Sure!”

As the girls hug each other, Sanji has to practically force the sirens in his mind to lower their volume.

“Wow… this feels good,” Bonney hums, closing her eyes.

“Yeah…” Vivi agrees, looking down. “Oh! You shaved!”

Bonney laughs and looks down at Vivi as well, “Oh! Landing strip!”

“Make them stop!” Surprisingly, it’s Nami who says that and everyone in the room laughs as the two girls chuckle and separate to put on their robes.

“Wow, well… I’m glad we did this. And you really need to start showing off your curves honey!” Bonney elbows Vivi who grins at her.

“Well, maybe you can help me with that!” she replies, “and you’re gorgeous. Totally worth that line of admirers.”

“How do you guys feel now?” Law asks and both the girls turn to look at the camera.

“Well… I would say that this had to happen one day or the other,” Vivi starts with Bonney nodding next to her, “I mean… it’s but natural. I am glad we did it.”

“Yeah, me too. We’re gonna have naked cuddles every time she is over at my place now. That felt really good,” Bonney grins.

Law nods and switches off the camera. “Okay. That went well. Who’s next?”

Everyone stares at each other while Bonney and Vivi walk from behind the screen to stand with them, the two standing a little closer than before and talking softly, no longer caring of what’s happening around them.

“Who’s next?” Law barks again, turning around to glare at them after setting the camera again. “We haven’t got all day!”

“Alright. We’ll go next!” Luffy exclaims and Zoro stares at him horrified as the shorter man grabs him and pulls him to stand behind the screen, slipping a little on the slick floor.

“Hey! What happened to ladies first, huh? Why aren’t Robin and Nami going next?” he growls, straightening up.

“The only time you’ll say anything gentlemanly, Zoro,” Nami tutts as she smiles wickedly at him while handing the dangling mic over to Ace who - being a man - has to hold it up and close to the pair.

Zoro flips her a finger and Nami raises her brow, the grin not leaving her face as she still stands next to Ace, not moving a bit from the position. “Oh! Law. I have something for the blooper reel.”

“Later, Nami. We need to finish this first,” Law mutters, foiling the ginger heads plans and she glares at him. The cameraman ignores her and makes a sound check, then counts down before starting to record.

“How do you guys feel about this?”

“It’ll be fun! I get to see Zoro naked twice in one day!” Luffy grins at the camera and Zoro’s eyes expand to look like round saucers. Behind the camera, Sanji’s cheeks redden, Nami smiles evilly again and Law looks up from the camera at the comment.

But it’s Ace who speaks, “twice?” he asks, looking extremely concerned. “Roronoa, what have you been doing with my brother!?”

“He’s speaking out of context,” Zoro snaps, then smacks Luffy on the back of his head who groans.

“No, seriously,” and this time it’s Law who speaks, probably too surprised to remember they’re running short on time. “You guys do that often?”

“No!” Luffy exclaims before Zoro can open his mouth, “he and Sanji just bumped into each other naked in the changing room is all.”

There is silence as everyone including Law’s camera turn their focus on Sanji who looks like he could be having a heat stroke, with his exposed skin completely red as a radish.

“I- It was an accident!” he splutters out. “He just appeared out of nowhere and…”

“Alright. Shut up. We don’t have the time for this. That was the best confirmation though,” Law grins, making sure his camera caught Sanji’s _deer in the headlight_ expression. “Now... back at the job.”

He turns around, fixing the camera again and the mood lightens a little as everybody returns to look at Zoro and Luffy. Sanji still looks uncomfortable and notices Nami walk over to Law and whisper something; the man tilts his head in her direction, nodding and chuckling with her. Right. There goes the clip on the internet. He looks at Zoro and sees that the man is staring at him, looking disgruntled.

“ Alright, second question: how long have you known each other?”

“Forever!” Luffy starts, while Zoro keeps silent. “We lived near each other, went to the same school...I don’t think we’ve ever gone longer than a week without talking to each other.”

“He was an annoying kid, but I somehow got attached,” Zoro shrugs, trying to get his mind back in the game.

“That’s because he loves me!” Luffy smiles honestly, looking at Zoro who turns to look at him.

Zoro considers himself a quite strong minded person and even though he does not claim to have a heart of stone, he doesn’t let people affect him easily. Luffy is one of the few exceptions to that rule. They met when Zoro was in fourth grade and Luffy was in first. Ace used to be in Zoro’s class and the two used to sit on the same bench. Luffy and Sabo burst into their class during break one day and of course, Luffy had been resilient in making Zoro his friend.

That’s how it had started. And now they’re close friends. They’ve seen each other at their best and worst, respect each other for who they are, support the other when it’s needed, and fought for each other too. They have been together since that day to present and will be forever.

“Yeah okay,” Zoro grins, “I love you big man!”

There is a chorus of _awwwwwww_ s from the people around them and the pair laugh. At the back, Sanji looks at Zoro like it’s the first time he’s looked at the man. He knows Zoro has a soft spot for Luffy but he’s never seen the look of fondness that’s currently painted all over the man’s face.

“He has that effect on people,” Law says, nodding, tapping Sanji out from his trance. “Moving on. What do you think about today’s video? How comfortable are you being naked in front of someone else?”

“It’s fun!” Luffy exclaims. “What’s wrong with being naked? I’ve seen Zoro naked plenty of times! He has a cool scar!”

“It’s just a body,” Zoro shrugs, his face hardening into the default scowl again. “All people basically look alike. I mean, girls have breasts but we have dicks, so that’s pretty even.”

“There’s nothing even about that, Zoro,” Law mutters.

“You know what I mean,” Zoro snaps. “Look, every body is different, but all people are alike, you know? Some people are tall, some short, some are hairy, some have muscles, some have rolls, some have freckles, some have birthmarks…” Zoro grins suddenly and meets Sanji’s eyes, “some even have target eyebrows…”

“But everybody is cool!” Luffy finishes brightly, unaware of how Sanji looks like he’s about to burst.

“Not exactly my words,” Zoro returns his attention to Luffy. “But let’s go with that.”

“Very good,” Law murmurs. “When you’re ready, you can disrobe.”

Zoro quirked a brow at Law then turned to look at Luffy who was grinning at him, “do you want to count like the girls did?”

“Sure!”

Zoro and Luffy don’t hesitate at all to take off their robes, their reactions pretty expected. Luffy smiles broadly and Zoro returns it.

“Oh! So you aren’t totally hairless!” Luffy grins, looking down at his friend who smirks at Sanji across the room. Sanji scowls at him and crosses his arms, looking sideways.

“Yes,” Zoro says, glancing at Luffy. “Well, I know now why Marguerite puts up with you now!”

“Hey!” Luffy exclaims as everyone laughs.  “Well, you’ve got a lot more scars than before!” He turns to look at the camera, “you guys can’t see it but he has a lot of scars!”

Zoro nods, turning to look at the camera as well, “comes with mountain climbing.”

“Cool, right?” Luffy says excitedly. “Wait, what about your back?”

Zoro turns around, showing Luffy his smooth back. “Not a scratch.”

“God damn! You have a bubble butt!” Luffy shouts and Zoro laughs, then growls when Luffy turns around and puts their bums together.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He turns his head to glower at the raven head.

“I don’t wanna hug you from the front!”

Law rolls his eyes, “okay, how does this feel?”

Zoro glares at Law, “like I have two apples pressed against my butt!”

Luffy laughs as he turns to look at the camera. “It feels okay. Zoro and I are pretty close so it doesn’t feel like a big deal or anything. We’ve grown up together. This isn’t the first time we’re seeing each other naked.”

Zoro nods. “Yeah. Same locker rooms and camping trips. Though that doesn’t mean I am enjoying this,” he adds and steps forward before bending to pick his bathrobe and putting it on. He can hear Luffy tying his own bathrobe behind him.

“Do you feel like you’re closer to each other now?”

“Yeah... I guess this was the last hurdle?” Zoro shrugs and Luffy nods. “We’re not doing this regularly though,” he adds.

Luffy shrugs, “I wouldn’t mind!”

“No surprise there.” Zoro mutters and Law snorts as he stops recording.

“Alright. Nami, Robin. If you please? And hurry. We barely have fifteen minutes left before Kidd shows up. Bonney, you’ll man the mic? Vivi…”

Sanji drowns out what Law is saying as Ace, Luffy and Zoro come to stand next to him.  Ace grins at him cheekily as he leans against the wall next to him.

“You okay?” he asks.

Sanji nods, not looking at the raven head, “why wouldn’t I be?”

Ace turns to see that Zoro and Luffy are out of earshot before he continues. “You know why I am asking. Do you wanna go first and then quit the room? I don’t mind,” he whispers.

Sanji glances at Ace, taking in the concerned gaze then looks at Robin and Nami who are already answering Law’s questions. Nami looks like Christmas has come early and Robin is smiling like the Goddess that she is. They seem at ease and even though Sanji does want to leave as fast as possible, he’s not going to break the flow of the shoot.

He sighs, shaking his head. “No. It’s okay.”

Ace shifts closer to him and Sanji leans in to the warmth, needing the wordless reassurances that resonates from his friend, trying to concentrate on what the ladies are saying.

“... fifteen years. We’re pretty close but not once has Robin flashed me,” Nami says, pouting at the elder lady who chuckles as she looks at the camera.

“Well, I knew she wanted to check me out every chance she got. I love being able to tease her.”

“You knew!?!?” Nami looks at Robin with surprise.

“I did,” she grins

“We did,” everyone mutters from where they stad and Nami turns to them, baffled.

Law smirks as he catches  the look on camera and clears his throat, “whenever you guys are ready!” He grins at them and Nami’s features LIGHTEN up again.

When the robes come off, Nami takes her time assessing the skin that has finally been revealed. Robin is a tall lady with brown skin, Minakshi eyes, full lips and long black hair. She has the perfect amount of fat on the perfect areas and under the harsh light, she shines like a bronze statue and Nami felt akin a poet hit with enlightenment, a bee who found his queen… a dehydrated traveller in the desert who stumbled on an oasis he prayed for.

“Oh my God…” she breathes out, not realizing she’s been holding her breath, eyes still refusing to look up. She sees how Robin’s chest moves as the lady chuckles. “This was so worth the wait.”

“I’m glad.” Robin grins and Nami finally looks up at her, her smile practically dividing her face in half. “I must say though, you have gorgeous nipples.”

Nami looked down at herself like she’s looking at them for the first time in her life. “I do! Yes.” She grins, looking at Robin’s again, “though you could totally beat me in that area.”

Behind the camera, Vivi leans in to Sanji, “it’s like a child left loose in a candy shop.”

He and Ace snicker at the comment though Sanji has to agree that Nami definitely looks happier than he would have been, had he been paired with Robin for this - not that he had such disrespectful thoughts for the gorgeous lady. He did have them once, for a millisecond… Robin had realized what he was thinking and the look she gave him still sometimes leaves him covered in goosebumps.

“How does it feel to look at each other with no filter?”

“Well, it’s definitely not enough!” Nami says, glaring at Law like what he asked was scandalous.

“Oh dear… do you want a hug?” Robin extends her arms and Nami doesn’t even care to reply, her expression changing to that of immense glee again, before she rushes into the offer and pulls Robin into a bone cracking hug, burying her face in the soft mounds.

“This is like heaven!” she squeals, delighted.

Robin laughs as she hugs the drooling lady closer and looks at the camera, “pretty sure that we can’t get closer than this.” Her cheeks are a little pink as she speaks.

“Spho phelouz oth Frantee riph nao” Nami moans, her works coming out muffled.

“What was that?” Robin asks politely as she ruffles the orange hair, making Nami sigh against her.

“I said,” Nami looks up with a little regret, “that I am so jealous of Franky right now!”she pouts, making everyone but Sanji and Ace laugh.  Those two were busy being jealous of Nami.

“I don’t mean to interrupt but,” Law starts but Nami interrupts him right then.

“Then don’t.” She leans more into Robin as she speaks, “let me enjoy the sweet fruit of all my effort.”

“Uhh… Nami, the floor is kind of slippery…” Robin mutters, but too late.

Before Nami can even turn to look at her, Robin’s foot slips and the two girls are falling. It happens in slow motion - Robin falling backwards while Nami’s hands come up to cup her head as she falls on top of her - saving her from any injuries. Bonney goes to stand in front of the camera so that Law accidently doesn’t record anything that will soon be visible below the screen.

Law though, is staring wide eyed at the evolving scene, totally forgetting his camera. Sanji and Ace are no different as they pay much more attention to the scene (as if that’s possible) right before they have their eyes covered by Vivi’s not-so-dainty-hands.

Luffy’s eyes widen where he is standing between Ace and Zoro - who grabs a spare bathrobe lying on the desk next to him and rushes to the front.

There is a moment when Luffy, Bonney and Ace can see a tangle of limbs hitting the floor, every movement slowed.

A stretch of limber and toned skin, Nami falling on top of Robin - her legs falling open to accommodate Nami’s hips between them- bodies pressed tight together from the momentum, leaving no space between them - breasts and stomach smashing together- two contrasting palettes as bronze and ivory mix through curves and dips.

And then, the glorious image is covered by a cloth unworthy of their touch as Zoro covers the two ladies with a robe. Robin looks up at Zoro from under the ginger head who is now nuzzling the taller lady on her neck.

“Thank you, Zoro” she breathes, smiling softly, hugging and patting Nami’s back under the robe in reassuring strokes.

“No problem,” he mutters, a fading blush decorating his face, his eyes looking away from the two of them. For all of his talk about all bodies being the same, he cannot deny that seeing Robin naked is completely different from seeing Nami naked.

Or the effect that her beauty has on him. In his rush to hurry towards them, he caught sight of more than any other person in the room and seeing Robin that way under the blaring lights in the room stirs something deep. Inside his heart, not pants. She truly is a beautiful woman.

He closes his eyes and sends a quiet apology to Franky in his mind.

“Thank you, Bonney!” Nami exclaims suddenly, startling the silent room. “This was your best idea ever!” She makes her point by rubbing herself even closer to Robin.

Bonney rolls her eyes as everyone breaks out in laughter and turns, smacking Law on his head with the mic, making him glare at her, “hurry up and turn that off!”

Law blinks then turns off the recorder, muttering about being able to delete the scene later during editing.

“Yes, you would have _deleted_ it. Do you really think you can shadow your pervertedness around me?” Bonney hits him on his head with the mic repeatedly as she speaks and Law suddenly regrets asking her to be in charge of it, ducking and raising his hand above his head at the repeated onslaught.

“Alright alright, fine! Now go get them dressed!”

Bonney grunts then hurries to the two laying on the floor. Nami doesn’t look like she ever wants to move, holding onto the elder lady who seems unconcerned by the fact that her best friend is practically motorboating her.

Zoro excuses himself as Bonney helps the two girls up in the security of the opaque screen - much to Nami’s discontent. Sanji and Ace have finally gotten Vivi’s hands off their eyes - having missed the show and are now frowning down at Vivi who looks like she would love to be anywhere but between them.

“Why did you do that, Vivi?” Ace pouts.

“That was a once in a lifetime occurrence and you didn’t let us enjoy it,” Sanji pouts as well.

“ I… I…”

Luffy laugh as he pushes Ace so that he is standing next to Vivi, “you two are idiots.” He grins at the two, wrapping an arm around Vivi’s shoulders. “Stop trying to make her feel bad for protecting her friend’s privacy.”

Before Ace and Sanji can reply, Law calls out to them. “ You two, hurry up!” he snaps

“Sheesh, we’re coming,” Ace says, rolling his eyes. The two make their way to the screen as Nami and Robin walk out from behind it.

“You girls weren’t hurt were you?” Sanji asks as Ace gets in position behind the screen.

“Nah nah!” Nami waved her hand. “Won’t even bruise!” she grins before walking off with Robin as Sanji steps in next to Ace.

Law doesn’t bother making sure they’re comfortable or asking one of the men to replace Bonney’s _mic_ job, knowing full well neither of them is too awkward about their body around each other. He leans into his camera and notices what's wrong.

“Someone hand blondie a robe,” Law snaps, “he looks like he is already naked.”

“I have a towel around my waist!” Sanji exclaims, glaring at him and Law is thankful that he has already started to record.

“Alright, fine. How do you feel about today’s video?”

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Sanji says first. “When Bonney first came up with the idea, I was a little hesitant, but I mean...I’ve known Ace for a really long time.”

“Me, too,” Ace adds. “I didn’t even think about it, knowing I would be doing this with Sanji.”

“How long have you known each other?” Law asks.

“About...a decade?” Sanji wonders, glancing at Ace.

“Seems about right,” the other man nods. “We met through Luffy, of course.”

“That’s right!” Sanji exclaims, remembering the first day he met Ace. “Luffy was always talking about how cool his brother was...honestly, I thought I wouldn’t like him at all...but first time I met him-- _total_ crush.”

Ace startles, looking at Sanj with wide eyes. “Wait, you had a crush on me!?”

“You didn’t know?” Sanji asks, surprised.

“You seriously didn't?” Bonney directs at Ace from where she is holding the mic.

Ace turns to gawk at her, “you knew too?”

 _“Everyone_ knew,” Zoro snorts from where he stands next to Vivi.

“Yeah,” Luffy nods from Vivi’s other side, “he made a complete fool of himself in front of you _so_ many times,” he laughs.

“Dude, my face was completely red for the first hour we met,” Sanji speaks finally and the freckled man finally turns to him again, a little red on the ears, “and I was so nervous I spilled water all over you.”

“I thought you were just a klutz!” Ace exclaims. “And that you were… I don’t know? sick?”

“You thought _Sanji_ was a klutz?” Law asks incredulously, momentarily forgetting he’s behind the camera. “Sanji? The most graceful guy on planet Earth, probably?”

“I guess! It was my first time meeting him!” Ace gapes at the entire room who simply gives him the _seriously?_ look. He rolls his eyes and turns back to Sanji, who is staring at him in the same way. “I thought you were super straight, first time I met you,” Ace says, shrugging. “You kept flirting with every girl you saw...”

“I’m extra flirty when I’m nervous,” Sanji laughs. “But only with girls,” he winks at the camera. “They make me feel peaceful. Besides, my crush lasted for…. a week at most! You were super straight, and you remind me of Luffy _way_ too much for me to ever have romantic thoughts about you.”

“Hey, I’m a great boyfriend!” Luffy exclaims off screen.

Sanji looks at him with a flat glare. “ Yes, you are. But you pick your nose,” he starts sticking his fingers up, counting the points on them, “carry chicken drumsticks in your pockets, think sticking chopsticks up your nose is funny, ha-”

“How is chopsticks up anyone’s nose not funny!?”

“Time, people!” Law interrupts snappily. “Next question: what do you think about the message of today’s video? How comfortable are you being naked in front of someone else?”

Ace shrugs again, “I’m pretty comfortable with my body. I’ve never seen Sanji naked, but that’s not planned or anything. I guess it’s just never happened.”

“I’m comfortable with my body too, but I guess I’m a little more reserved,” Sanji says. “It’s not so much that I’m nervous about _my_ body, but I’m nervous about someone else’s body. I mean, if it is a guy, I’ll probably check them out. It’s not always sexual. But it’s just like...a background thought. And I feel guilty looking at a woman like that; like I’m doing something wrong, or I’m disrespecting them.”

“I guess...your body is a really personal thing,” Ace says thoughtfully, having nodded along with Sanji. “Everyone will try to tell you how you should or shouldn’t feel, or what you  
should or shouldn’t do with it...but at the end of the day, it’s _your_ body. If you like to cover up from neck to toe and change with the lights off, then go ahead. If you feel comfortable enough to walk around your house naked--go ahead.”

“Good,” Law murmurs. “Now, get naked.”

Sanji rolls his eyes but slips his towel off at the same time as Ace loses his robe. And immediately, his eyes run the length of Ace’s body, unable to stop himself from fully checking out his best friend.   


And yeah, there’s a little bit of a sexual vibe in it - hair falling over broad shoulders (which are sporting some serious cat scratches), brushing the collarbones, tan skin stretched like latex over an eight pack. Muscle stacked arms and long lean legs between which sits the limp member which… well, wow. Sanji tries not to ingrain that image into his brain. He doesn’t need to have a crush on the guy again.

“Nice legs,” Ace comments first, smirking when Sanji looks up to meet his eyes.

“Nice...uh, everything.”

Ace laughs. “Thanks. Hey, you actually look a lot bigger naked.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sanji snaps, blushing.

“I don’t mean it that way!” Ace hurriedly says. “Though, yeah. kudos to you in _that_ department.” He grins again, making the blond blush even harder.

“You’re not that _small_ yourself,” Sanji says, eyes going down to take in the member again then   
returning Ace a cheeky grin before turning to the camera and adding, “I actually used to think he stuffed a sock down the-”

The voice of knuckles rapping smartly against oakwood interrupts him and Sanji’s eyes go wide as he stops midway and everyone else turns to look at the door.

“Time’s up…” Law grumbles. “Luffy, talk to Kidd and see if he can give us another ten minutes?”

Luffy nods and hurries to the door where the knocking begins again.

“You two, hurry,” Law snaps at them, “get your robes back on and let’s get this over with.”

“Right!” Ace bent to get his robe and is halfway through tying it around his waist when he realizes Sanji hasn’t moved from his spot. He’s gazing at the door, lips slightly parted and eyes  
wide in shock.

Throwing a quick glance at Law who seems to be distracted enough with setting the camera right again, he quickly wraps his fingers around the blond’s bicep, shaking him a little, “Sanji!” he urges, making the man gasp and snap his attention to the raven head. “Put on your towel.”

Sanji blinks, like he hasn’t heard what his friend is saying and Ace growls. This had been a regular thing in Sanji’s life about two years ago - he would space out, remembering the  
things he went through and it was difficult to get him back to reality. He hadn’t had an episode like this since last year.

“Sanji!” Ace cups the blonde's face as Luffy’s irritated voice fills the room and Law barks instructions to the young man, not paying the two any heed. Bonney retracts the mic and comes  
to stand as close as she can to them without seeing Sanji naked - she knows it would embarrass him to no end and the last thing they need right now is to make him more uncomfortable.

Vivi and Robin are standing calmly, their attention also fixed on the commotion at the door. Law leaves his position to rush and push in next to Luffy - probably to speak his mind to Kidd  
or whoever is at the door.

Zoro, however, is looking at the three friends standing around the screen. He curiously takes in the frozen form of the blond, the tense hunch of Ace’s shoulders, the intense focus on Bonney’s  
eyes. The whole scene looks a little out of place, like it’s running at a different time.  He sees Ace cup Sanji’s face and speak to him, one hand sliding down and gripping around his shoulder in a reassuring manner, his lips moving slowly. His gaze is earnest as he stares at the blond, his entire body screaming protectiveness.

Sanji just closes his eyes and leans in to the touch, head bowed and nods softly to whatever Ace is saying. Zoro notices the slight shaking of his shoulders and hands as Ace brings him  
close to a hug. He notices how his back rises and falls quickly, as if taking quick, successive breaths, as Ace runs a hand up and down the pale skin, his lips still murmuring soft words.

“RIGHT!” Law’s screech surprises Zoro, making him tear his eyes away from the trio and gape at the tall man striding towards the camera, “we got five minutes to pack up. Now…” He presses  
record again and when Zoro tunes the man out again and returns to look at Sanji, the blond man is looking down as he ties the towel around himself while Ace stands next to him, the tension in his muscles unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t see them a couple of seconds ago.

The raven head starts saying something, smiling casually at the camera while Sanji looks around, unperturbed by what’s going on.

“... it’s fine, really. We were close to begin with - this wasn’t that huge a step to take for me,”Ace finishes.

“Sanji. Your view? And fast.”

Sanji looks at the camera when Law speaks to him, his eyes slightly lidded as he starts speaking, his stance and manner oozing nonchalance. “Well, it’s not a huge deal for me. But it’s not nothing either.” He then shrugs, looking away, “I guess I won’t be too worried  
About walking in on him in the shower if he is ever staying over.”

“Perfect,” Law grins as he stops recording and immediately starts to disassemble his tripod, “Okay, you two,” he points at the duo behind the screen, “get the screen at the back of the room.  
Bonney - could you help me....”

As everyone starts to do their jobs in pack up - the girls other than Bonney getting dressed, Luffy and Zoro getting the lights down, while Ace and Sanji pull apart the screen to  
set it in the storage - Zoro can’t help but sneak a peek at Sanji once every few seconds.

He’s never seen the blond that way and they have been working at OneFeed for five years now. Granted, they never really ‘hang’ together, but he likes to think that he _knows_   
Sanji, knows what he’s made of. But he’s never seen this part of Sanji before, and it makes him extremely uncomfortable thinking about what could have affected the blond that way. And yet, he also finds himself wondering what other sides Sanji could be hiding behind that proud, nonchalant facade.

“Alright, guys,” Law calls out, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I’ll start editing this with Bonney later today. You guys did great.”

“Let’s go celebrate with food!” Luffy exclaims brightly, his voice loud in Zoro’s ears making him flinch a little while everyone other than Ace and Bonney groan in unision. Those three  
always want to eat.

“Zoro, let’s go to that new tex-mex place,” Luffy grabs his robe and pulls, but Zoro is distracted as Sanji and Ace walk past him, heading towards the door.

“I got...gym,” he murmurs incoherently, eyes glued to Sanji’s back, not really paying attention to the pout his best friend gives him.

Sanji’s walk is stiff as he is joined by Bonney who nudges him softly and murmurs something. Sanji tilts his head in her direction, shaking his head - like a refusal. He raises his hand to  
pat Bonney on her shoulder, as if to reassure her - but stops suddenly, Bonney and Ace in sync with him.

Zoro raises an eyebrow in surprise as the smooth skin on the lean back suddenly ripples, shoulder tensing up and stiffening as the door opens and Kidd walks in with his crew. Ace’s hand jump, as if wanting to grab Sanji reassuringly, but the blond shakes his head again quickly.

“Are you listening to me, Zoro?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zoro mutters, still distracted.

Luffy raises a quizzled brow at his friend then directs his gaze parallel to Zoro’s. Together, their eyes jump to Kidd who is entering the room, walking like he owns the place.

The man has changed a lot. He moved to another state two years ago, saying it was ‘personal’. At that time, he was healthy and toned, his hair black and spiky.

Now, he is still tall as always but with muscles rippling through and visible under the tight stretch of his tee, hair longer and dyed a deep mahogany red above extremely thin brows  
\- barely visible against his somewhat wheatish pale skin, eyes in the process of going round and shocked as he too stops on his tracks when he notices Sanji.

Luffy and Zoro watch how the surprised look is replaced by that of guilt as the man hurries towards the trio. Sanji takes a step back but it looks involuntary as he seems to stop himself from backing away further. Ace, on the other hand, comes to stand in front of the blond and the next moment he is standing face to face with Kidd.

The guilty look on Kidd’s face turns to that of anger as the raven and red head glare at each other, like two deers who’ve locked antlers. It seems to go on forever as the two communicate through glares but then Kidd sighs and directs his gaze to meet Sanji’s and when he starts to speak, the blonde seems to tense further before sighing as well.

He waves his hand - a small motion of shifting aside unwanted thoughts or words - and nods softly, before starting to walk past the man, touching Ace softly as he goes, motioning him to move with him.

Kidd keeps standing there, looking slightly defeated as he looks to the ground before turning around swiftly to put a hand on Sanji’s shoulder, stopping him on his tracks.

Zoro and Luffy can’t see what’s happening now, with both men having their backs towards them but Kidd is probably distracted. Because he doesn’t see the right hook that meets his face, making him stagger and back off, holding his jaw. Bonney stands next to Sanji, her face positively livid as she glares at the man. She grits some words out from between her teeth and Ace steps in again – apparently to convince her to start walking when Sanji does, leaving the red haired man standing there in what Zoro presumes is shock.

It all happens in barely under thirty seconds, with Luffy and Zoro as the only witnesses – both of whom are rooted on the spot, unable to move from the shock of the events that had unfolded right before their eyes.

“What... was that?” Luffy asks finally, his eyes following Kidd as the man seemingly regains his senses and walks to his team, who are already setting up the lights and cameras. He still seems lost in thought, concern written all over his face.

“I don’t know,” Zoro replies, his eyes fixed at the spot on the door where the blond disappeared. Not once had the man turned around. Not once had Zoro gotten to see which emotions broke their way to marr the usually happy face. He feels an itch rise at the back of his head – an itch to know what is wrong and an itch to see a side of the man that he always thought he never wanted to know more about.

Zoro has never lost sight of just how strong Sanji is, nor how strong Sanji _looks_. But... it seems the man has a different side to him, one Zoro never considered. A side other than his kind and soft self or the professional and enthusiastic self or even the brute and harsh self. It’s like another facet of a kaleidoscope, one not so pretty or colorful but a part of it none the less.

“Let’s just go get that food,” he turns to look at Luffy, who shrugs and nods silently, heading for the exit.

And as Zoro walks next to him, he suddenly finds himself yearning to learn more about that hidden side of Sanji.

 

_**To Be Continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who drops a comment or leaves us kudos or posts an ask on our Tumblrs! We are humbled by your kind attention and hope that you keep showering us with more! It really motivates us to write!! :D <3


	6. Awkward Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Mother of God, it's been a month.  
> I'm horrible. Please forgive me.  
> Basically, I (ZSL) hit a block and Dangit was the most wonderful human alive to wait for me so that we could write together. That and busy schedules.  
> Hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait! :D

Zoro is a very hardworking man. Contrary to what most people believe, unless he is taking a nap, he is never really lounging around. He likes to be up on his feet, moving around and getting some work done. Which is why the time he spends on his desk in OneFeed barely amounts to four hours a week. 

So, he’s never realized, until now, that Sanji’s work area is located diagonally across his - with two rows of computers, desks, office chairs and other humans in between. He’s just returned from the gym - his hair still damp from the shower, the drugstore mint shampoo leaving his scalp cool - taken his seat, typed the password to his MAC - alPinism - and is about to start editing his video when a soft movement catches his eye.

Sanji is brushing his hands through his hair, eyes a little glassy as he stares at the computer screen. He’s blinking more than usual with a bit of his lower lip stuck between his teeth, and seems to be reading something but the way his eyes go distant every three seconds makes Zoro doubt if whatever the man is reading is actually being understood..

There is a small tap on his shoulder and Zoro turns, eyes lingering on Sanji for just a second longer before turning his head to look at Vivi, who’s smiling at him softly. 

“Hey!” Zoro blinks. Has she been talking to him?

“You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?” she asks, her eyes darting from him to Sanji for a fraction of a second.

“Uh…” Zoro looks at her.

“I have to cook tonight,” she smiles, leaning a little on her desk, “and I was wondering if you know what Nami likes to eat?”

“Oh!” Zoro grins at her, relaxing a little on his chair. He’s thankful she isn’t asking why he’s been ogling at Sanji. “Well, anything as long as it can be eaten with fresh orange juice. Hamburgers, pizza, omelettes, rice, prawns… chips… seriously, anything!”

Vivi blinks, a small frown marring her gentle features. “You guys ever eat anything healthy?”

“Uh…omelettes and prawns are pretty healthy.” 

The raised eyebrow aimed at him makes him realize that he has failed at amusing her.

“God!” she groans, picking her phone from the counter, her blue bracelet jingling at the movement, “might as well ask Igaram. You’re an idiot, Zoro.” She gives him an unimpressed look as she presses the phone to her ear, waiting for her butler to answer the call.

Zoro just grins at her like a moron, making her roll her eyes and return her attention to her desktop, talking to Igaram as she does. Zoro’s grin fades as he throws Sanji another cursory glance before returning to finally finish editing that stupid challenge video.

Time passses slower than usual as he sets the video to upload on his private channel about half an hour later. His work here is done and it’s just 7:30. He could leave now, hit the sack, buy himself some beer, maybe go bowling with Luffy. But instead, he decides to just sit back on his chair, feet up on the desk and chat with Ace of all people. 

He tells himself that he’s just too bored for anything else. And that checking on Sanji every couple of minutes is just random. That it is a total coincidence that every time he looks up from his phone screen, he sees Sanji brushing his hair again or maybe, picking up his cellphone to type something furiously or staring at the pen stand on his desk like it holds the answer to the universe’s greatest mysteries. 

Sanji sends his reply to Kidd, a little pissed at himself for not having changed his number from two years ago - or even giving him a reply in the first place. It isn’t that he  _ hates  _ the redhead. No; what happened two years ago was an accident. Neither of them knew it would turn out like that. Kidd never actually meant to hurt Sanji. It just _ …happened _ .

He suddenly feels conscious again. That feeling…. The slight prick on one’s nape when they are being stared at from behind...or the sensation like a part of their face is more exposed than the rest. He’s been having that feeling course through him today. Like he’s being stared at, like someone is burning a hole through his face.

Zoro’s eyes flick up from the chat screen again, the word  _ “typing…”  _ appearing under Ace’s name as he does. 

Dark brown meets ocean blue, and the two eyes hold contact for about half a second - the blue wide and surprised, slight shock clear in them while the brown lax and warm, interest and maybe a bit of worry lining the deep iris - before returning to the previous screen they both were fixed on.

Zoro feels his heart race, his hands shaking a little, and eyes focused on nothing as he tries to control the heat currently warming up his cheeks.

Sanji saw him staring at him.

No, no; Sanji  _ caught _ him staring at him.

No, Sanji just caught him raising his eyes from his phone. Zoro is the one who caught the blond looking at him.

He tries various excuses in his brain, trying to calm his butterfly of a heart. And in the end, settles for deluding himself into believing that Sanji will brush it off as coincidence. 

Something that has never happened between them in this office in the past five years.

And something that he knows the blond doesn't believe in.

His phone vibrates in his hands and he realizes that Ace has been sending him replies all this time.

**Ace**

_ Skyrim? _

_ no, let's do DOTA. _

_ COD maybe? _

_ FIFA? _

_ Assassin’s Creed! _

_ Though AC is useless, Sanji has full memory sync. Luffy will pout again. :/ _

_ Let's do any other this Saturday afternoon on luffy’s channel? _

_ Dude? _

_ At least lock the screen to avoid blue ticks, sheesh! _

_ I gotta drive now, man. Bonney n I are car pooling! Lemme know what you wanna do! Adios! _

Zoro skims through the messages, trying to decide which game to play. 

Skyrim is his favorite, he’s on the highest level - other than Luffy, of course. Luffy is the gaming lord, he holds the highest scores or level or syncs in the majority of the games. He has a dedicated fanbase and his private channel has 16 million subscribers.

All X-Box has to do is contact him in case of a new game release and their publicity is well taken care of. Luffy obviously knows which games to actually approve of. Very few games actually catch his interest and if they don’t pose a challenge, he doesn’t give them a second glance.

The only game he doesn’t fare particularly well in is Assassin’s Creed. Sanji is unbeatable in that. Even though AC is not a game where people go around comparing their progress, Luffy still fumes a little when Sanji plays and is able to go through a particular patch with full sync with his eyes closed. His sulking phase after every game lasts for a long while, only ending when Sanji cooks for him.

Thinking of Sanji….His eyes flick up from the screen again, watching Sanji bite his lip as he moves the mouse furiously. Zoro’s not  _ really  _ that interested in the blond. Where else is he supposed to look? The ceiling?

Returning back to the chat, he types the game he’s interested in - COD - and locks his phone. The video had finished uploading and processing, so he uploaded the thumbnail and published it, sharing it a minute later on his Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr.

He doesn’t have a lot of work piled up now, nor any reason to stick around. A glance at his phone shows it’s not even eight yet. Unconsciously biting at the tip of his tongue, he looks up at Sanji again who seems stressed to no end. From the looks of how Camie is rubbing his back and staring at the screen, pointing at something, it seems he is having trouble getting any work done at all. 

Something in him uncoils and pokes at the inside of his stomach when he watches slight relief loosen Sanji’s features as he looks up and gives Camie a small, thankful smile which she returns, rushing a hand through his hair before leaving, with Sanji still smiling softly as he returns his attention to the screen.

Returning his eyes to his own desktop, Zoro frowns at himself, hand automatically moving the mouse to shut down the system for the night. 

Why… was he feeling  _ jealous _ ? No, that’s...no.

He looks up at the blond again and raises an eyebrow - Sanji’s frown is back in place as he runs a pale hand through his hair yet  _ again _ . He hates messing up his hair, why is he doing that? He’s even hunched up in his seat now, one leg hiked up on the seat, the limb too long for it to seem comfortable. 

He moves instantly, his body apparently not needing his brain to think through things anymore and before he knows it, he is standing next to Sanji who is looking up at him in slight bemusement, his lips slightly parted. He doesn't look too good… he looks unhealthy. Like he hasn’t slept for days.

“Uh…hi.” 

Someone should just pour a bucket of water on his head right now.

Sanji cocks his eyebrow, glancing behind him before replying with a slight “hey..?”

“Uhm..” Okay… disaster management. Zoro clears his throat, standing a little straighter, “I’m done so I’m gonna head home,” Zoro shrugs, hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck.

Sanji looks at Zoro curiously, not missing out the part where he said ‘home’. That’s not something he expected the other man to call his house. But… he still has no idea why Zoro is letting him know.

“Okay…?” He hopes there’s more to it, otherwise he’s suffering through the most awkward conversation in his life for nothing.

“Yes,” Zoro nods, then, “when are you heading back?”

Sanji blinks at him, his mouth falling open a little, then visibly shakes himself and turns to face his computer again. “Maybe an hour or so?” he shrugs, not looking at Zoro. “Probably after nine thirty,” he mutters. Remembering that he’s supposed to cook tonight, he mentally face palms himself, “I’ll cook something when I get home, feel free to snack on anything or hit the cellar.”

“You have a cellar?” Zoro gawks at Sanji. The house has two stories but he didn't really expect a basement or cellar to be a part of it!

Sanji grins as he turns to look back at Zoro and Zoro’s stomach suffers a few flip flops at the gesture.

“Use the door next to the closet. It’s nothing big… but I like to have a separate place for alcoholic beverages.”

“Does that include beer?”

Sanji shakes his head as he turns to look at the phone that just vibrated in his hand, the smile wiping off his face as he checks the notification and murmurs, “you’ll find those in the fridge.”

“Alright...I’ll see you then...I guess,” Zoro says and Sanji turns again to look at him, his eyes distant.

“What? Oh! Yes. Around ten,” he mutters, returning his attention to his phone. “See ya’.”

Zoro nods and quickly turns to walk away. 

_ What the hell was that _ ? 

He briskly walks to the lift and urges it to take him down a little faster, still not understanding himself. Why did he do that? He could have texted Sanji but no! He went and actually tried talking to the man. 

He has almost reached the exit, his hand on the handle, looking forward to downing a few beers at the plushy looking couch Sanji owned when Luffy’s voice invades his thoughts.

“Zoro! Wait up!”

He stops and turns, grinning when he sees Luffy running towards him, his floaters smacking loudly against the porcelain tiles.

“Heading home already?” Zoro asks as Luffy reaches him and the two head out together.

“Yup! Maggie is making me a  _ huge _ dinner!” he says excitedly, stopping a few feet away from the door, about two steps away from the small garden. He turns to Zoro, his signature smile in place, hands deep in his pockets. “She’s great...though Sanji’s a better cook,” he adds, pouting a little. “You’re so lucky, Zoro.”

Zoro rolls his eyes. “You’ve already said that,” he says drily. Though thinking back to today morning, he can’t really deny it. Sanji had made a very simple dish and had successfully managed to make it mind blowing.

Luffy is about to reply but stops, his gaze growing distance and slightly steely. Zoro follows his line of sight to see what distracted his friend from talking about food.

Kidd is coming from the opposite hall, looking harried and distracted. He’s walking a bit slowly since his gaze is locked on his phone screen, his eyes narrowed and his lower lip caught between his teeth. He doesn’t seem to notice the people walking around him until someone bumps into him and apologizes. Kidd waves away the apology before exiting the building.

Zoro can help but compare him to Sanji.

“How’s Sanji?” Luffy asks quietly, startling Zoro.

He looks down at his friend, then shrugs, grimacing a little. “He’s...fine. I think,” he adds quietly.

Luffy nods, his gaze still a little distant. “Call me if you need help. With anything,” he adds, almost as an afterthought, and Zoro nods.

Yeah… Sanji didn’t seem that ‘fine’ when he approached him a few minutes ago. Stressed, tired, distracted, dishevelled… in great need of a good distraction. Zoro suddenly felt a little guilty. He knew it was stupid but the only reason Sanji was probably going to cook when he went back home was because Zoro was staying at his place, otherwise he might have ‘snacked’ on stuff or skipped eating and headed straight to bed. 

Maybe… he could cook?

He imagines himself standing in the middle of Sanji’s kitchen, the counter a mess, the stove a mess, the fridge a mess… everything a mess - and then he imagines the fury on the blond’s face when he sees the state of his beloved kitchen.

Or he could pick food from that restaurant Sanji previously worked at?

Here, he imagines a good meal, a couple of dollars spent and no mess.

Yup. Second option it is.

“Hey…how far is The Baratie from here?” he asks Luffy who grins immediately.

“About ten minutes… maybe thirty for you!”

“Shut up!” 

“Fighting?” A soft feminine voice interrupts their bickering. Both Zoro and Luffy turn to look at Maggie who had apparently made her way to them - stealthy as always.

“Maggie!” Luffy exclaims, rushing to her side and pulling her in for a hug, pecking her quickly and softly on the lips, his hand placed possessively on her cheek and the other around her waist, her one hand coming up to wrap around Luffy’s wrist, the other curling into his shirt, “why would we fight?”

Marguerite, Zoro assumes, would have replied but she’s busy blushing and looking at Luffy with soft eyes and Zoro grins. Their relationship started a bit tentative, mostly because of Luffy’s sexual identity. However, the two of them quickly reached a compromise, and Luffy assured Marguerite that while he felt no sexual attraction towards her, that didn’t mean he couldn’t  _ have _ sex with her or even that he didn’t love her. On the contrary, he loved her dearly.

And as the years have gone by, their relationship only seems to strengthen. 

“We weren’t fighting, Marg!” Zoro says and she turns to look at him, all smiles. “I was just asking how long it would take to reach The Baratie.”

“Oh! Are you eating out Zoro?” She blinks, surprise covering her face, “you and Sanji have to share five meals this week… Please don’t break the ru..”

“No...no...nothing like that. Just, the cook seems tired. So I’m just getting some takeout to eat with him. Nothing else.” 

Marguerite and Luffy both look at him in surprise and Zoro realises a second later that he’s just openly admitted to doing something for Sanji out of his own free will. 

“I… that is… he would cook a horrible meal… and I don’t… I can’t have that… I mean...”

Marguerite starts giggling as he stutters and a cheeky grin finds it’s way on Luffy’s face. 

“Oh! Whatever! G’night!” 

Zoro turns around, refusing to acknowledge the warmth on his face as he hurries to the parking lot. He stops twenty steps later, hitting a dead end and turns around in the right direction, passing and ignoring the laughing couple, as he fumes his way to his car.

Damn couples and their damn giggles.

He fumbles with his keys, accidentally pulling out Sanji’s before digging in his pockets again and extracting his own. Getting in his seat and back out of the parking took a minute, another one minute went into setting ‘The Baratie’ on his GPS. He follows the confusing directions Google reads out to him in that weird monotone and ten minutes later, he’s searching for a spot in the restaurant's over packed parking lot. He knows this place is famous and well reputed but he didn’t expect it to be this full on a Monday night!

He walks to the grand entrance, thinking of something simple and healthy to order in his mind. He’s been here before, three times to be exact: once when Usopp hosted his bachelor’s party, once on a date, and once by mistake. Every time, he ate something different and it had been delicious and surprisingly not overpriced at all, despite the 15 percent that is added for tips.

Maybe some simple sticky rice and tangy curry prawns? That sounded healthy enough. He has tried that before so it’s safe to go with that, right?

“Welcome back, bastard. Do you have a reservation this time?” 

The irritating voice of the restaurant waiter breaks through his thoughts and his face immediately turns into a scowl when he sees the fat bloke from last time receiving him again.  

This is a bad idea, he should just leave.

No, finding another restaurant will take a hell lot of time.

“I just want to order take away…” he grumbles, the mocking smile on the waiter’s face testing his patience.

“Alright. Well, have a seat at the bar. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Patty, as the nametag on the man suggests, turns to greet another customer who enters behind Zoro. Rolling his eyes, he proceeds to the bar, noticing how most of the crowd are college students or younger couples. He takes a seat on the plush bar stool, taking in the various bottles stacked up neatly.

The view somehow reminds him of a scene in Pink Panther 2 when the inspector successfully burnt down the restaurant just because he tried to select his own wine. He snorts to himself, the scene playing in detail in his mind… Clouseau’s mustache is really similar to Sanji’s, but Sanji’s is definitely not that bushy, or even that thick. 

A menu is practically pinned into his chest as Patty passes by him to stand behind the bar. “Now then, what would you like packed?”

Zoro sets the menu on the bar counter, not caring to skim through the menu. “Sweet sticky rice and tangy curry prawns. Two plates.” 

“Sure,” Patty writes what Zoro said on a small pad, “anything else? Dessert for the wife, maybe?”

Zoro’s eyes go round, staring at the man with incredulous eyes. “Wife??”

“Yes?” Patty raises an eyebrow then points the cap of his pen to Zoro’s hand, which lays on the counter, “ain’t that a ring? Steel is very rare nowadays though. People are going for diamonds and gold, you know?”

Zoro looks down at his hand, not realising he’s still wearing the faux ring Luffy had insisted on them exchanging the other day. “Ah! No. This is…” he looks back at the man, “I’m not married… or engaged.” He smiles; he doesn't need to explain these things to a stranger.

“Okaaaay! Then maybe some dessert for yourself? We have perfect butterscotch cake slabs that would go perfectly to soothe that tangy sauce. You really will need to sweeten your taste buds a little after that, y’know?” 

“No...just the entree is fine.” 

Patty bites the inside of his cheek as he looks at the small meal he jotted down. This is the smallest order he has received all month… all year maybe. Perhaps he can get this man to take one of their finest wines? He should be above twenty one for that though. 

He glances up at the green haired man; he’s young and all, fit with muscles… looks Asian. Maybe he’s from Korea? Japan, maybe? Perhaps Chinese...were Asians usually that tanned though? Well, Indians, Pakistanis, and Sri Lankans were pretty tanned. Maybe he was mixed?

He should try offering him some strong liquor in case he was either. Strong alcohol, not wine.

“Very well. What about some alcohol?”

Zoro doesn’t realize how his face lights up when the word ‘alcohol’ hit his ears. “What you got?”

Patty starts pulling out one bottle after another, placing it in front of the man to check the age and price. He makes sure to avoid the somewhat cheaper stuff or the very expensive ones.

“Let’s see, Black Label Scotch, Black Dog, Jack Daniels, Glengoyne…”

Zoro stares at the growing pile of whiskies. None of them will ever match up to the level he is on. One full bottle of these might get him somewhat buzzed but that’s about it. Plus, didn’t Sanji say he owned a cellar? The guy probably has all of these.

“... sake...”

The word catches his attention again as the man places a bottle with clear liquid on the counter. He picks it instantly, seeing it has barely aged six months. 

Does Sanji own sake?

He fishes his phone out, pulls up the message he received from Sanji that morning, and starts typing without a second thought

 

* * *

******_Sanji Pervert_ **

* * *

 

__ Breakfast is in the oven, try not   
_ to grace me with leftovers.  _ __  
_ Keys are yours to lockup before _ __  
_ you leave. Don’t forget to shut _ __  
_ the garage once you’ve exited. _ __  
_ And don’t forget to check the _ __  
_ lights and gas before you leave _ __  
_ as well. Dinner/Lunch has to _ __  
_ be done together, let me know _ __  
_ which and if you want _ __  
_ something specific to go with  _ __  
_ our workout. Ciao!      _ _  
_ __                               09.00 AM

 

_ Do you by any chance _ __  
_ happen to own Sake’? _ __  
_ 08.02 PM _ __  
  


_ Sake’? No. Can’t really store _ __  
_ it for longer than an year. _ __  
_ And I rarely indulge. _ _  
_ __                              08.02 PM

 

_ K. _ _  
_ _ 08.03 PM _

 

* * *

* * *

 

Type text here...

* * *

* * *

 

****

 

“I’ll take the sake,” Zoro says, interrupting Patty before he unburdens the entire shelf. 

The man’s eyes sparkle, his hand reaching for the bottle of sake he pulled out. “I have a wonderful Isojima -.”

“Just give me the cheapest one,” Zoro interrupts and Patty’s face falls.

“Of course, sir,” he says through gritted teeth, grudgingly taking away the $80.00 bottle from the bar. “I’ll have your order out as soon as possible.”

Zoro spends the free time browsing his channel, reading people’s comments and mentally jotting down some of their questions and ideas to address in a video. He’s not one for much commentary, but it’s never a good idea to ignore his viewers. That’s the fastest way to lose subscribers.

It doesn’t take long for his takeaway to be ready, packed neatly in carton boxes with the Baratie’s fish logo in light blue and tied closed with a thin, white ribbon. The entire restaurant is not what Zoro would consider luxurious, but it has a certain atmosphere that gives it a classy vibe. 

Sort of like Sanji, if he’s being honest.

He pays at the front, his bill a little higher than the last time he came here because of the sake, and brings up Sanji’s address on his phone as he walks out. Getting out of the parking is as difficult as finding a space was, and when he finally hits the streets, the traffic, like last night, is horrible. Cars honking unnecessarily, drivers talking on the phone, red lights lingering on for way too long and the green lasting for what seems like a second. 

About twenty minutes later, his GPS guides him to the homey street. It isn’t too late, just 08:30PM so there are a few cars roaming the street - probably returning home after work. He passes Sanji’s house once, his GPS screaming red at him to turn about. 

“Fucking houses. All look the same,” he grumbles to himself as he fumbles with the set of keys Sanji gave him. He finally finds the garage key and presses the button to open the damn gates. He reverses into the parking space, making sure to leave enough space for Sanji, which frankly, is not that difficult. 

He wonders for a second why Sanji - a bachelor - is living in such a huge space. It has to get lonely, living in a two-story house alone.

Shaking his head, he exits his car, grabs the food and just when he is about to close the door, he notices the vlogging camera. He… hasn’t recorded a single thing since morning. Law is going to kill him. The man has whatsapped him twice since the morning, reminding him to vlog. 

Meh. Like he gives a fuck. 

He shuts the door, leaving the camera inside and heads to the door, remembering to shut the garage gates. He opens the door with a little hassle, trying to handle both the sake and food containers in his hands but he succeeds eventually. Pushing the door open with his shoulders, he feels a little strange when he enters into Sanji’s house alone. He places the keys on the shelf on the right and walks down the hall towards the kitchen, the odd feeling only increasing as he does.

He sets the containers on the counter and turns to the shelf holding the serving plates and picks out a few, deposits the food in them and sets them in the oven.

He sets the Sake on the counter, not really intent on starting it straight away. Maybe just a light snack? Sanji did tell him to snack if need be. After a minute of opening random cabinets, Zoro finds a pack of cheese popcorns. It’s one of those with a zip lock. Satisfied with his find, he decides to munch on them while he searched the web for stuff to do. 

It was rare for him to have free time such as this. Maybe it’s because he isn’t with Nami. He usually had to clean when he got home and then cook something worth eating. It took more time than he had ever realized. 

He heads to the bedroom, where he left his laptop bag and extracts the HP Pavilion 15, placing it on the bed while he grabs the charger and headphones - not that he needs those with Bang and Olufsen on his laptop.

Sticking the puffed bag of snack under his armpit, he carries his electronics out to the living room and settled on the couch there. As expected, it is fucking comfortable. He nestles into the soft fabric and shifts the coffee table a bit to set his legs up on it and places the laptop on his thighs. 

He waits for the laptop to start - it usually takes about 30 seconds, and opens the popcorn in the meantime, thinking of what to watch. Maybe Netflix?

He puts in his password and opens Chrome, Netflix sitting ideally in the “recent tab” option. He clicks on it and is greeted with a message saying that he isn’t connected to the internet. 

Right. Sanji’s place. New WiFi.

He groans… He forgot to bring his broadband stick. What is he supposed to do now? He doubts Sanji has a DVD collection. Grunting, he takes out his cell, opening Sanji’s thread again, not wanting to call the cook. 

 

* * *

**_Sanji Pervert_ **

* * *

 

__ the garage once you’ve excited.  
_ And don’t forget to check the _ __  
_ lights and gas before you leave _ __  
_ as well. Dinner/Lunch has to _ __  
_ be done together, let me know _ __  
_ which and if you want _ __  
_ something specific to go with  _ __  
_ our workout. Ciao!      _ _  
_ __                               09.00 AM

 

_ Do you by any chance _ __  
_ happen to own Sake’? _ __  
_ 08.02 PM _ __  
  


_ Sake’? No. Can’t really store _ __  
_ it for longer than an year. _ __  
_ And I rarely indulge. _ _  
_ __                              08.02 PM

 

_ K. _ _  
_ _ 08.03 PM  _

_ WiFi pass? _ _  
_ _ 08.30 PM _

_ 1231990123 _ _  
_ _                            08.30 PM _

 

_ Cool. Thanks. _ _  
_ _ 8.30 PM _

* * *

* * *

 

Type text here...

* * *

* * *

 

 

As Zoro enters the password to  **_SANJI_ ** , his mind notes the speed of Sanji’s replies. The man is still texting and distracted, most probably. Or is he like that? Always replying the moment he receives a notification? 

With the IP address confirmed, and WiFi connected, Zoro refreshes the page and is welcomed by the Netflix homescreen, already logged in. 

Bob’s Burgers Season Five is out, he notes. The mouse hovers on the first episode for a few moments before he decided to move on. Nami and he have a pact to watch it together. 

There are many more series that have never caught his attention. He could rewatch a previous show maybe. 

He goes to his list and scrolls through his saved series and movies..

F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Supernatural, The Walking Dead, Modern Family, Scrubs, Aijin, Bleach, Durarara, Hunter X Hunter...damn, he has a lot of anime, most of it stuff he had tagged to watch later.

He opts for watching AOT again in preparation for the always-delayed season two. 

He’s almost finished with episode 4 - Erwin, Levi and Hanji trotting back through the gates on their horses along with their squads with everyone coming to see them, Eren, Armin and Mikasa amongst them. Levi was his favorite character in the complete series: a badass sword fighter has always been his thing - when he hears the front door open and the sound of a deep sigh reaches him along with the tingle of keys being placed on the shelf.

For some reason, his body tenses as soon as he hears the footsteps walking towards the living room. Which is completely stupid of course. It’s not like he is a thief or something. He’s a welcomed guest. Well, not welcomed but a guest nonetheless. 

“Zoro?” Sanji’s hoarse voice reaches him before the man himself appears on the doorway.

“Hey,” Zoro greets, turning back to look at him.

Sanji’s leaning against the door frame, his usually tamed hair now ruffled, shoulders drooped, and face drawn. He looked bad at the office; he looks ridiculous now. His eyes are a little red around the corners and his lips looked bitten. His cheeks have somehow sunk in a bit, and his eyes look like he has been in physical pain the whole day. Something tugs on Zoro’s heart when he sees Sanji this way and he knows for a fact that it’s not pity.

“Hey,” Sanji sighs back. He gets a hand up to rub his forehead,  “I know I promised you food, but honestly,” he takes the fingers through his hair, ruffling them, his second eye gracing Zoro with a flash before getting covered again, “I’m way too tire-” his sentence gets interrupted by a huge yawn, and when he opens his eye, he staggers where he is standing... 

“You okay?” Zoro asks, eyeing the man. 

“Yeah yeah,” Sanji waves away his rare concern, “just tired. I was saying, can we order out? I don’t really feel like cooking…” Sanji trails off, his eyes finally meeting Zoro’s.

“Sure.” Zoro replies, “I mean, I already bought something,” Zoro corrects himself. “I figured you’d be tired so...” He breaks the eye contact then, staring at Sanji’s shoulders, just realizing how weird that just sounded and he hopes that his cheeks are not tinting as he feels a little warmth creep up on it.

Sanji looks at Zoro as the man avoids his eye, surprised. 

“Oh.”

Silence starts to freeze between the two YouTubers, the air starting to feel thick. Zoro got food because he  _ noticed _ Sanji was tired? Not a surprise though, Zoro is good at noticing other people’s reactions. But Sanji is used to being ignored in that area.

As the level of silence starts to border awkward level: 9999, Sanji realizes he’s being rude.

“I mean,” he starts and Zoro’s eyes snap to his. Sanji feels a little uneasiness wear off him, “thank you. I really appreciate that.” And he really does.

Zoro shrugs, turning to replace his feet with the laptop on the coffee table. “No problem. It’s in the oven, let me get it.”

“No, I’ll get it,” Sanji says quickly, bringing a hand up to stop him. “Don’t worry about it.”

Zoro sits back down a little hesitantly. There’s a lot of tension in the room, though he’s not entirely too sure why. This is the nicest he and Sanji have been to each other in years, and it is fucking basic. Are they really that impolite to one another?

He tries to submerge himself in the episode again, realizing about 30 seconds later that he has been trying to get into the ending credits - since he had forgotten to pause the video - and has been successfully concentrating on Sanji moving around in the kitchen. He growls to himself, tapping on the 5th episode, his mind still noting the light footsteps in the kitchen.

Sanji walks back in the room, his checked shirt unbuttoned, revealing little of the tight pectorals and the belt unbuckled and hanging from the jeans that snuggly hug his waist. Zoro watches from the corner of his eye as Sanji walks, tiredness oozing from the way he moves, yet he manages to get everything in one go.

He turns his eyes back to the screen as Sanji places twin plates and the serving bowls and forks n spoons on the coffee table. He also sets two empty scotch glasses with the sake.

“You don’t mind do you?” Sanji points to the drink as he sits next to Zoro, not too close.

Zoro shakes his head and Sanji starts pouring the clear liquid in one of the glasses. “What are you watching?” Sanji asks. He is about to fill the second glass as well but Zoro places a hand on the glass rim, stopping him. 

Sanji gives him a wary look but Zoro shakes his head. “You never serve sake to yourself if you’re sharing it,” he says. He takes the bottle from Sanji’s hand and fills the second glass for the blond. “It’s Japanese culture to allow the other person to fill your glass.”

“Oh. Alright. I’ll keep that in mind.” Sanji smiles genuinely, moving to serve himself some of the rice and prawn curry. “This is from Baratie, isn’t it?” he smiles softly.

“Yeah…” Zoro nods, serving the warm food to himself as well. 

Sanji hums as he sits back on the couch and mixes the content on his plate.

Zoro points to his laptop with his fork as he too leans back, “Attack on Titan, by the way. Have you seen it?”

“Oh yes.” Sanji nods, his eyes flicking to the laptop screen where the Colossal titan is standing there staring at Eren. “It’s one of my all time favorites. And this scene,” he nods to an Eren with his 3D maneuver gear at the ready, “is ruddy brilliant.”

“Agreed,” Zoro nods. He sets his plate on his lap and shifts the contents on the table a little so that his laptop is placed at the centre, “but I feel Levi attacking the Female titan is much better.”

“Yes. It’s one of the best. He’s my favourite character in the series.”

“You want that episode or continue with this?”

“It’s your choice, I’m alright with both.” Sanji shrugs, taking a sip of sake.

Zoro nods and let’s the current episode run. It would take too much time to actually find the specific episode and the food tastes too good for him to concentrate on such a task.

Sanji makes little comments every few minutes and Zoro finds himself enjoying it. It is surprising how similar their thoughts are. The cook has a dry sense of humor, and Zoro has to stop himself from outright laughing at jokes that aren’t meant to be  _ that _ funny. It’s probably the sake hitting him, and the fact that Sanji is smiling a bit is also due to the same reason. Probably.

“Oh God, I should not have eaten so much,” Sanji groans as the closing credits of the fifth episode roll in. He sets the empty plate on the table, one hand coming to rest on his stomach.

“You okay?” Zoro asks, glancing at him curiously and Sanji shakes his head.

“I’m a bit nauseous,” he admits, bending forward a bit. “I just ate way too much and drank too much,” he grumbles.

“We could go for a walk,” Zoro suggests before he can stop himself and quickly adds “I’m feeling a bit stuffed myself.”

“I feel too lazy to even get up…” Sanji practically moans, flopping to the side, resting his head on the sofa armrest. Zoro notices that his face is pinked up a bit but he looks better than he did before and that makes him feel relieved for some reason. 

“It’ll feel good,” Zoro offers, “There’s a cool air outside.”

Sanji moans a bit again but sighs, the idea of natural cool air hitting his currently heated face sounded too good to resist. Zoro is probably right. He can’t sleep now either way and if they stay at home, doing nothing, only awkwardness would follow.

“Alright,” Sanji finally gives in, “there is a park nearby.”

“Alright,” Zoro copies, surprised by how excited he sounds.

He gets up, picking up the plates and bowls and takes them to the kitchen. He sets them in the sink and walks to the bedroom to put his shoes back on. When he reaches the hallway after accidentally walking into the bathroom twice, Sanji is already there, wearing a windcheater on top.

“Let’s go, Marimo,” Sanji grumbles, sour mood returning and Zoro nods. They walk out together and it’s dark already, of course, but a few street lamps illuminate the quiet street. Zoro follows a few steps behind Sanji at first, but when the blond glares at him, he catches up to walk beside him.

“Thanks for the food, by the way,” Sanji speaks first, breaking the silence.

Zoro shrugs, looking straight ahead. “I was hungry, too.”

“And you wanted a drink, you damned alcoholic,” Sanji adds, but he’s smiling softly again. Zoro purses his lips, not sure what to say. Sanji is having really weird mood swings. He is used to it with Nami but this is different.

“You know,” Sanji breaks the silence again. “Dad sells a cheaper bottle that tastes just as good as the one you bought.”

“What? I told that guy to give me the cheapest!”

“Oh, so you’ve met Patty,” Sanji snorts. “Trust me, he never sells the cheapest stuff. Used to be a con artist, did some time for it too, but he’s a good man. An asshole, but a good man.”

“He’s an ex-con and your dad still hired him?” Zoro asks, surprised.

“The old man is an ex-con, too,” Sanji says, smirking. “Practically the whole restaurant is. The geezer has some soft spots, way deep inside that wrinkly exterior. He likes giving people a second chance.”

“Sounds like a good man,” Zoro says, and even though Sanji doesn’t answer, his smirk softens a little.

They walk in silence for a bit more, but it’s not awkward like before. The cool air feels amazing, and the view of the empty streets is a bit soothing. There are a few houses with their lights still on, but mostly everyone is asleep already.

“I was talking with Ace today. Luffy wants to game on his channel this weekend.. you in?”

“Which game?” Sanji clears his throat, his stomach starting to ache a little. The walk is supposed to help him digest but he’s starting to feel a little uncomfortable now.

“Call of Duty, Skyrim… maybe Assassins Creed. But you know how Luffy gets with the last one,” Zoro chuckles. 

They are near the park now, the area practically deserted save a few couples who seem to be out for a stroll. Zoro feels his cheeks redden a little as he realises they both are also probably coming off as one.

Sanji seems unconcerned though, as he doesn’t reply to what Zoro said, trying to control the weird feelings in his stomach. He licks his lips, his mouth starting to suddenly salivate furiously. Before realizing it, the pain in his stomach increases tenfold.

“Sanji? You okay?” 

Sanji turns to look at Zoro, a headache starting to tick in his head. Zoro seems concerned for some reason. 

“Holy shit. Are you going to puke?”

Sanji’s pale skin is gleaming with a sick green sheen. Without thinking, he pulls Sanji to the side of the park and not a moment too soon since Sanji immediately starts convulsing as his knees hit the harsh ground, emptying the contents of his stomach on the mud that separates the park from the footpath. 

Zoro holds Sanji up, one hand pulling the hair away from his face, the other supporting the man's torso. Sanji’s sweating already, his body cold and one clammy, damp hand moves to grip Zoro’s, the other clutching at his own stomach.

Zoro, frankly, is freaked out. He is not used to seeing Sanji like this -  _ at all _ . Just what the fuck is it that the man is so worried about?

Sanji spits our bile remnants from his mouth. “Fuck,” he spit again, his stomach making him dry heave again, his eyes stinging, throat burning, head and stomach aching to no end. “Shit.”

“It’s fine, Sanji.” Zoro’s surprisingly soothing voice says to him. He feels long, calloused fingers rub through his hair, the movement reassuring and calming him. He opens his eyes, gasping a little, not realising he closed them. He raises a shaking hand to his mouth, rubbing his lips on the back of his hand, the slight sticky sensation there making him gag a little.

“Fuck,” he mutters again as Zoro starts massaging his back a little.

“Do you think you’ll vomit more?” 

Sanji shakes his head, his eyes falling shut again as his muscles start to relax a little. He spits the last bits of bile out of his mouth. He can feel Zoro still supporting him, strong and warm, and Sanji feels better, better than he has the whole day. 

He’s not used to feeling like this with Zoro around. He’s not used to this feeling around anyone other than Ace, Luffy and Bonney. 

“You want to sit for a bit?” Zoro asks, his hold on Sanji loosening a bit as the trembling starts to subside.

“Yeah,” he says, voice coming out a little strained, but strong enough for Zoro to let his hair go and help him to his feet.

Sanji would have refused the help but his knees are still shaking and he definitely needs the support. They walk to a bench nearby, it’s green paint chipping on the edges. Sanji huffs as he sits, Zoro taking the space next to him, not sitting too close but not too far either. 

“Feel better?” Zoro asks, concern clear in his voice and Sanji nods.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, rubbing his face into his hands. “Damn, that’s probably the third time I’ve puked in my whole life,” he mutters.

“Is it because of Kidd?” Zoro blurts out, unable to stop himself.

Sanji splutters, throat burning as he coughs loudly, trying to dislodge the tight feeling suddenly wrapped around his throat and clenching his heart.

Zoro hesitates for a moment, a little taken aback by Sanji’s reaction, then starts patting on his back, feeling the sweaty skin under the tee.

“I’m fine,” Sanji says, clearing his throat, his heart, contrary to his words beating like a horse in a race.

He wasn’t expecting that question. But it’s obvious now that Zoro noticed what had happened after the shoot today. And fuck his acting for not being able to hide the stress Kidd’s mere appearance has put him under. Though no one else really seemed to notice… and despite the differences between the two men, Sanji has always known that Zoro is an observant bastard, though he never ever shows it.

The silence stretches while Sanji tries to decide whether or not he should or shouldn't answer Zoro’s question. Though if he is being honest, his reaction was answer enough. The things that happened between Kidd and he are personal, way too personal to just up and share with anyone, no matter how close he is to them.

“You don’t have to tell me, you know,” Zoro says. 

Sanji turns to look at him, wondering if Zoro read his mind.

Zoro is looking at the swing set, his eyes set on the soft movement of the swings in the calm cool night air. “I’ve just never seen you this worked up about anything.”

Sanji turns to look at the swings too, considering the situation. True. He had never been as deeply scarred by anything else in his life as his relationship with Kidd. And Zoro… well, Zoro was a friend of his - he would never admit it out loud, never acknowledge it in front of anyone - but it was an unspoken truth.

It was the most weird sort of friendship, fighting non stop, being sarcastic to no end, getting on each other’s nerves… but if anyone from outside tried doing that to one of them, the other would shut them up, without needing a reason to stand up for the other. They were just like that. They trusted each other. 

Luffy had a word for it. He called them idiots, then proceeded to call them Nakama.

He could tell Zoro a bit, right? The man is going to live with him for five more days and Sanji isn’t sure if he wants to have something like this linger on between them. He doesn’t want Zoro to think that he actually considers him a stranger in his life, because he doesn’t. And the fact that Zoro is concerned with what’s happening, means that he doesn’t view Sanji as a stranger either.

Zoro, by now, is internally cursing himself for unnecessarily speaking out. Sanji is being too eerily silent. His spine is tickling a little in discomfort and he is about to suggest to head back when Sanji suddenly starts speaking.

“It’s... quite personal,” he says, “but… it’s nothing too dramatic, really. Just… I saw him after so long and it was out of the blue, so it hit me harder than I ever expected it to.”

Zoro is surprised, the thought of heading back wiped clear off his mind.

“He was my boyfriend and… umm…” Sanji hesitates.

“Bad break up?” Zoro suggests.

Sanji snorts, shaking his head, the action making his head throb so he stops it quick. “I wouldn’t call it a break up, really. He just upped and left one day. Didn’t even tell me...” his hands moved with his words, flicking his wrist in the end.

Zoro frowned. He’s had breakups. Good breakups and bad breakups, but never had he ever faced a situation similar to that of Sanji’s.

“That’s a cowardly move.”

Sanji’s brows twitched. “Tell me ‘bout it… But, I can’t really say that I blame him.”

“What does that even mean?” Zoro frowns, turning to look at Sanji - his brows are furrowed, and he seems distant again, though more relaxed compared to before.

“It’s.. arh! Zoro, things aren’t always simple. And neither are they two-faceted. There are so many choices… so many situations… things you can’t judge other people off of, no matter how much you want to…”

“You’re being vague as hell, you know?” Zoro can’t help himself from interrupting the rambling man.

Sanji sighs, a soft smile coming to soften his features, “yeah… but I really can’t bring myself to blame him for freaking out. I freaked out too.”

“Want to share why?” Zoro’s voice came out soft, surprising himself.

“I… don’t know.”

Zoro hums as he sits back again, not in the least irritated. Sanji has the right to personal space and he has no right to go butting his nose in it. They have a week to spend together, too much information will definitely lead to extreme and unwanted awkwardness.

“It’s okay.” he says in the end. “I get it. But it has to be bad to shake you up like that.”

Sanji hums, then coughs again. His throat doesn’t hurt all that much anymore and his stomach feels a lot lighter. He has that ‘better’ feeling that one gets after vomitting but he is still uncomfortable and his clothes are soaked in sweat.

“Can we head back?” Sanji asks.

“Think you can walk yet?” Zoro asks back.

Sanji chuckles and nods, “yeah. And it’s not too far either.”

Zoro hums back and stands up. He lingers next to Sanji for a while, making sure the blond can actually walk and not just acting all high and mighty. He does falter a little, his walk clumsy but Sanji manages walking fine enough for Zoro to not worry.

They keep talking as they walk, moving the conversation to lighter topics, and Sanji finds himself enjoying this thing going on between them. Enough, that he takes a detour, hoping Zoro’s bad sense of direction won’t let him notice that Sanji is leading him through the longer route. He’s had a really really long and tiring day. He could use a little relaxing conversation.

Somehow, the conversation turns to family and Zoro decides to talk about his adoptive parents. “I was adopted pretty young, so I don’t remember much about the orphanage,” Zoro says. “I do remember that I hated them at first. I was a difficult kid, so every time parents tried to adopt me, they ended up sending me back. I thought this family was going to be the same. But...they weren’t.”

Zoro grins, remembering his life with Koshiro and Kashi. Then there was Tash and Kuina. “My sisters, their biological daughters, are twins but they’re as different as oil and water.”

Sanji looks at Zoro talk as he walks next to him, a soft smile on his face. He sees the excitement in Zoro’s eyes as he talks about his family and he feels warmth fill his heart.

“Tashigi is the youngest of the two, and she’s the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She’s strong, though; she’s a police officer now. And Kuina...she is a daredevil. More of a trouble maker than I ever was.” He turns his grinning face at Sanji and the blond feels his heart suddenly stop for a second before thumping again, faster.

“They sound great,” Sanji splutters out, not understanding what just happened.

“They are,” Zoro answers, smile still intact as he looks forward again. “I know I’m adopted, but they treated me like a brother from the start. No special treatment, no jealousy, no… anything. Since the moment I stepped into their home, to them, I was their brother.”

“That’s pretty rare,” Sanji murmurs and Zoro nods.

“Well, enough about me, what about you?” Zoro asks, smiling at Sanji through the dark.

“Ah,” Sanji smiles back automatically. “My parents were both chefs, so I guess I’ve always been interested in cooking.”

“Your mom works at the Baratie as well?” Zoro asks, but Sanji shakes his head.

“She works at a hotel,” Sanji says. “Head chef. My parents divorced when I was quite young, but they’re in good terms. She...never really planned to have kids. She wanted her career to be stable before any kids came along; I was a surprise.” Sanji grins at Zoro who is looking at him intently.

“Things sort of got strained between them, and they decided the best thing was to separate. Zeff got full custody, and my mother visited me a couple of times a year.” 

“That’s...gotta suck, though,” Zoro says quietly.

Sanji’s grin falters a bit and he shrugs. “Wasn’t so bad. She remarried soon after, and has a daughter. I’m on good terms with her husband; he’s a good man, respectable. And her daughter, too. She’s a good girl.”

“Doesn’t sound like you guys are close,” Zoro says.

“No, we’re not that close,” Sanji agrees. “She grew up with both her parents, I grew up with Zeff. But... I like her. She’s smart and has a genuine sense of humour. She’s polite and decent, pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering at NYU, top of her class. I bet Mom is real proud of her.”

Zoro doesn’t point out the light bitterness that coats Sanji’s voice at just the last bit of his sentence. Instead he points towards the small outlet ahead of them, grabbing the chance to distract the blond. “Look, there’s a creamery. Want something?” Sanji doesn’t need to be reminding himself of things that he doesn’t like right now.

“I’m good,” Sanji says, eyeing the small shop. “Are you sure they’re even open?”

“There’s a guy inside,” Zoro shrugs as they reach the shop. “I’m gonna get something.”

“Alright. I’ll wait here,” Sanji says, crossing his arms. He doesn’t have any money on him and the shop looks too small for his liking. If he goes in there, he’s bound to feel claustrophobic.

Zoro smiles and leaves him alone, walking inside. Sanji sees him speak to the guy behind the counter, motioning towards the rows of ice cream. The guy says something back, shaking his head and points towards the door. Sanji looks at the door, snorting when he sees the closed sign. 

But Zoro apparently insists, because the guy shrugs then moves to grab whatever Zoro ordered. A couple of minutes later, Zoro walks out holding a vanilla ice cream in one hand and a white cup on the other one.

“Here,” he says, handing the cup to Sanji. “Lemon sorbet. Something cool and light to settle your stomach.”

“Thanks,” Sanji says, accepting the small cup, a bit surprised by the thoughtful gift. “I told you the store was closed.”

“He should’ve locked the door,” Zoro shrugs. “It’s his second day at the job, apparently. Don’t worry, I gave him a big tip.”

The cool treats soothes his aching throat, and since a sorbet is basically just fruit, sugar, and water, it doesn’t settle heavily in his stomach. He glances at Zoro, smirking when he sees the dollop of ice cream on Zoro’s upper lip.

“You got something right there, marimo,” Sanji says, tapping his own lip.

Zoro glances at him, his eyes flicking to Sanji’s lips for a second, then sticks out his tongue to swipe at his upper lip. It’s an entirely innocent gesture, but for some reason Sanji finds himself looking away, his heart beating loudly for two thumps before returning to normal and he feels his cheeks tint a little. 

“I was thinking,” Zoro speaks, snapping him out of his thoughts, “ you can probably make ice cream yourself, right?” 

“Yeah, it’s not that hard,” Sanji nods. “French style takes a little longer, but only because you have to cook the base. I prefer it over Philly.”

“I thought so,” Zoro murmurs. “I mean, I’ve seen you cook a couple of times; Luffy is your biggest fan, so he’s always watching your videos. I think it’s some kind of porn to him. But I’ve always been curious….why didn’t you become a professional chef?”

“I  _ am _ a professional chef,” Sanji replies a little sharply. 

“I meant, like in a restaurant,” Zoro quickly corrects. He doesn’t want to ruin the chill atmosphere they have going on, especially not right now when Sanji seems comfortable enough to open up a little. 

Sanji only shrugs. “I’ve worked at a restaurant before. I mean, I practically grew up in the Baratie. I mostly got into the YouTube thing because of Ace and Luffy, and….I don’t know, I just like it. A lot of people don’t pay attention to the time and process that goes behind every perfect meal they taste at a restaurant, so it’s nice to show them that.”

“So this isn’t what you’ve always wanted?” Zoro asks and Sanji shakes his head.

“Nah. I always thought I would just keep working for my father,” Sanji shrugs. “It’s nice to branch out and be recognized outside of his shadow, you know? Both my parents are award-winning chefs, they’re both highly talented cooks, and ever since I started showing an interest for cooking, people have been expecting me to follow in their footsteps. So I decided to make my own route. Kind of like you, I guess.”

Zoro smiles. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Did you always wanted to be a vlog celebrity?” Sanji asks curiously.

“Nah. I wanted to be a samurai.”

“A samurai?” Sanji repeats skeptically. “Like, with swords and stuff?”

“Yeah,” Zoro grins. “I actually do own a couple of swords, you know. And I’m pretty good at it. My adoptive father is also Japanese, so he reintroduced me to my culture. Kuina, Tashigi, and I used to attend this little dojo near our home...Kuina always beat me, and like always, I stubbornly trained myself to the point of exhaustion almost every day to beat her. Never did beat her, but the art brought us closer together.”

“But you can’t really make a profession out of that, can you?” Sanji asks curiously.

“No,” Zoro snorts. “It’s not a profession...it’s a way of living. I understood that as I got older. But I like what I do now. Can’t really imagine myself doing anything else now.”

“Yeah…” Sanji agrees, “I can’t imagine you in a suit sitting behind some desk somewhere.”

Zoro chuckles, the life in it making Sanji chuckle as well as they walk down the road towards his now visible house. “Can’t quite imagine myself doing that either.”

The next fallen silence is a comfortable one. Zoro licks at his ice cream while Sanji swallows spoonfuls of sorbet, enjoying the cool treat as it glides down his sore throat. Just like their shared time back at his house, Sanji doesn’t feel the need to fill their silence with mindless chatter.

Though, listening to Zoro talk about his family is certainly interesting, showcasing a side of Zoro Sanji had never even thought of before.

“This is nice,” he says suddenly, surprised by his own words. Zoro glances at him but Sanji keeps his gaze straight ahead. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Zoro shrugs, smiling a little and Sanji smirks.

“I guess you’re not as bad as I thought you were,” Sanji snipes back, finally glancing at him.

“Don’t fall in love with me, cook,” Zoro grins at him, wide and toothy, the starry night reflected in his dark eyes.

Sanji’s mouth dries and he swallows the heavy lump in his throat. “Who would, brainless marimo?” he quickly snaps back, clearly too late because Zoro only laughs and shakes his head, turning to stare straight ahead.

Sanji bites his lower lip. 

_ ‘I hope not _ .’

* * *

 

Bonney loves sleeping. She loves it enough to spend 10 to 11 hours out of 24, asleep. The remaining 13 hours are allotted for eating, video editing, enjoying life and working hard to keep enjoying her life. 

And that hard work meant a hundred percent dedication. Nothing,  _ nothing _ , could distract her while she was working. She puts her all into it and her usual chirpy, friendly mood disappears when she does. Which is why, every time she finishes, she is extremely tired and needs the sleep to catch up on the rest her body needs. After eating of course.

It is also why she simply loathes when she is disturbed between 4 AM to 12PM. That is the time she sleeps in, dreaming dreams that made no sense or dreaming dreams that made very satisfying sense. Sometimes, she didn’t dream at all, and she was okay with that too. 

What she isn’t okay with is the repeated ringing of her doorbell that broke through a very beautiful dream of pizzas and showers at 7 AM in the morning. She lays on her bed, on her stomach, glaring at the bedside watch blinking the taunting digits in her face. She feels Ace groan next to her, his hand resting heavily on her shoulder blades, and a leg slumped over her hips.

The doorbell rings again and Bonney literally growls, making Ace next to her blink his eyes open to stare at her sleepily.

“Uh… are you gonna get that?” Ace grumbles, moving his limbs off of Bonney. He winced next, followed by a hiss from whiskers whom he apparently rolled on to. “FUCK YOUR CATS!”

“NO!” Bonney snarls, “FUCK YOU!” She pushes off her comforter and storms out the room to the main door. Someone has a death wish, waking her this early in the morning.

She flings her door open in the middle of the next ring, ready to drown the person in curses, but stops when she sees who her guest is.

“Oh my dear! Were you still in bed? It’s 7 AM you know, sweetheart. I taught you better. You should be bathed and ready for the day by now.” 

A plump lady with curly hair stood on Bonney’s doorstep, a chestnut red lipstick tinting thin lips and light liner lining brown soft, round eyes. There are a few wrinkles visible on her face and she is wearing a typical Mom’s maroon tee and everyday jeans with simple slip on boots. 

“M… Mom?” Bonney splutters, sleep shooting away from her system faster than a bullet.

 

**_To Be Continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, pure ZoSan in this.  
> Please drop us comments, we're hungry for it and love reading them and thankful for the constant support you guys have showered us with!
> 
> To drop prompts or chat a little about the fic, feel free to visit our tumblrs!
> 
> dangit96.tumblr.com  
> zosanlaw.tumblr.com


	7. Big Mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe.... hi?
> 
> Okay, please don't be pissed. RL got very busy and the block hit both of us! Sorry for the delay. 
> 
> There are a few things we need to discuss about this fic though and please read it carefully before proceeding.
> 
> 1\. We both are very supportive of the LGBTQIA community. If we ever write anything that seems homophobic, it'll probably be to make the statement fit in with the character. It's not out personal view.
> 
> 2\. This chapter mentions Ivan as Agender and is not too persistent on any specific pronouns. Ace uses 'they' and Bonney uses 'she'. If we harm anybody's feelings if they prefer being called 'they' and not 's/he' then please know that that is not our intention. Ivan is a character who doesnt care about the pronouns in canon so we kept them the same here.
> 
> And.. that's all. We have added our Instagram account IDs a the ending chapter notes. Please feel free to follow us and dm us... get to know more about the fic. I (ZSL) will soon be posting art related to this fic. 
> 
> Hope you like this chapter! ^_^

**_Chapter Six_ **

**_Big Mom_ **

  
  


 

Zoro groans as his alarm vibrates next to him on the side table. Is it five already?? 

He lets the phone vibrate for the whole minute minute before it went to snooze for another 10 minutes. He wasn't a procrastinator but he really didn’t feel like he had enough energy to wake up and workout today.

He shifted in the warmth surrounding him, a little uncomfortable in the pajama shorts he wore last night to not freak out Sanji, but stops when he feels a weight over his chest. 

Opening his eyes and lifting his head a little, he can almost make out an arm resting on him in the negligible light filtering through the windows. His sleep addled brain barely understands what’s happening and why there is an arm hugging him around his chest.

He falls back into the pillow, bending his arm to rest his hand against the wrist on his shoulder and goes back to sleep, soaking up the warmth from the body snoring lightly next to him.

 

~

 

“M.. Mom?????” Bonney stutters, gawking at her mother like she had returned from the dead.

“Hello dear. Where are your manners? Let me in!” 

Bonney wouldn’t have said ‘no’ even if she could have and quickly moves aside to let her mother in before closing the door behind her and hugging the shorter lady.

God! How she missed hugging her mother. She had to shift when she became a YouTuber and though she left the town five times a months, coming back to only her cats made her miss her mother every time.

Big Mom - as her loved ones like calling her - pats her daughter back, noticing how she could almost feel her ribs.

“What are you doing to yourself Bonney,” she grumbles as she pulls herself away from her grinning daughter. She takes in her frame which is swimming under those loose pajamas and tuts, “is everything alright? You’re almost famished. Have you stopped eating?”

Bonney laughs and pinches her mother’s cheeks softly, “No, I’m fine.. You’re just being a mom!” 

Big Mom looks at her indignantly and is about to answer when a bang followed by a groan sounds behind Bonney, startling the lady and freezing Bonney in place 

_ Right. Ace.  _

“Why on earth do you have so much furniture in your hou…”  Ace’s voice precedes him through the hallway and when he appears, Big Mom turns her startled gaze to the shirtless…  _ and pantless _ man standing and staring at her wide eyed from his spot... in his boxers. 

She then turns her gaze back to Bonney who is staring at her with the same comical wide eyes like the man behind her. 

Oh! Seems like Bonney wanted to keep her boyfriend a secret.

“No! MOM! That’s not what it is!”

And of course, her daughter was going to try keeping it that way.

 

~

 

The morning sun gleams through her lashes and Vivi blinks twice, her eyes finding the pattern highlighted on the cream curtains in Nami’s room. They are beautiful, soft gold entwined with a hint of orange and red embroidered to look like pinwheels with tangerines.

Vivi sighs, smiling softly at them before closing her eyes again and pulling the comforter a little higher to hide her face in it. She realises a moment later that the material came to her with no resistance which probably means that Nami has already begun her day, since Vivi had found out that Nami is a notorious blanket hogger. 

Groaning a little, she turns her back to the sun to see that yes, Nami is indeed missing from the bed.

Stifling a yawn, she urges herself to wake up and zombie walk to the bathroom, which is thankfully empty. After relieving herself, she proceeds to brush her teeth and wash her face, and exits the bathroom much more awake, hair tied in a loose braid.

Her stomach growls at her softly as she heads to the living room, hoping to meet Nami there. What time is it again? It has to be late if she woke up after her. Another yawn and Vivi knows she needs coffee.

She steps into the living room, stifling yet another yawn and stops on her tracks at the sight that greets her.

Nami is there, her back facing Vivi as she squats low then jumps high, returning back on her toes and shifting the weight to the heels to squat low again, her thigh and hip muscles clenching with every movement. She is wearing loose fitting black yoga pants, unlike the tight ones usually shown in music videos - those rip at the slightest stretch. 

She’s wearing a black sports bra to go with it, partially hidden by the sweaty hair falling out of the tight bun. Her back is straight of course but the natural dip towards her lower back is gleaming with sweat and more beads are making their way to join the others already there, shining a shimmery copper tinted with white from the sunlight filtering through the white curtains.

Vivi’s eyes follows the journey of one of them, realising too late when it passes the very prominent ass dimples and slides into overlapping mounds of flexed butt cheeks, peeking from the pant’s waist line as they travel lower with every jump.

A hot tingling bursts and spreads through her groin, making her muscles clench against her will, shocking her out of her sleep. She bites and then sucks on her lower lip and quickly averts her gaze, her cheeks blazing hot. She’s lucky Nami hasn’t noticed anything, too immersed in her workout and back turned to her… just thinking of walking in on her if she were facing Vivi, her boobs probably bouncing with the jumps despite the sports bra clinging to her sweaty skin and soft…

Her eyes almost pop out of her sockets as the thoughts and imagery enters her mind. She turns around, hunger and sleep forgotten. More than coffee, she needs a very,  _ very _ cold shower.

~

Nami’s overall muscles, the quads, hamstrings, core, triceps, biceps… are burning pleasantly. She enjoys the heat in her body as she does the last set of easy yoga stretch - nothing big, just laying on your back and stretching the body from head to toe followed by four “Surya Namaskaar”.

She sighs contently, shifting from her lying position to stand and stretch her arms all the way back, bending as far as she could without hurting herself, feeling the tension and stress in her muscles relax. She’s been working out for an hour and half, she thought to herself, continuing her stretch as she went, Opeth playing in her ears just for the stretching sequence, helping her relax even further. It felt good.

Last night had been great. Vivi and she had come home and the other lady had insisted on cooking some simple chicken and bread. Nami had proceeded to pop open one of the wines in her collection and the two talked throughout the whole process - discussing Hannah Hart, Lilly Singh, Ivan Kov and Ascher Kucher. They talked about gender discrimination and LGBTQIA rights. They talked about the new X-Men about to be released and they talked about going to watch Deadpool together on Saturday afternoon. 

The talk then diverted to the oncoming elections and they were both strong supporters of the democrats and they didn’t care if either of the two Democrats won, but Donald Trump was a no go. 

Once the food was ready, the two had proceeded to eat in the living room, watch a rerun of The Simpsons and laughing heartily, making fun jokes in between and sniggering like idiots once the wine started talking for them. 

Vivi had fallen asleep on the couch mid giggle, and Nami had played with her hair- she’d always been interested in the texture. They were so long and beautiful and healthy and vibrant- before realising how late it was getting and woken up Vivi enough to get her to bed.

Nami grins to herself at the memory as she finished the last rep and went to finish the water remaining in her workout bottle. The heat that Zoro describes as ‘workout high’ is running through her body, and she’s sweating heavily, her hair sticking to the back of her neck and shoulders… she needs a bath.

She heads to the bathroom, wiping the sweat off her face and shoulders with a hand towel, wondering if she should wake up her sleeping ‘wife’, smiling when she remembers Vivi snuggling into the covers last night, muttering a goodnight to Nami and pecking her cheek before disappearing under them.

Nami’s faces burnes - no thanks to workout - as a hand came up to touch the spot on her cheek where the blue haired girl had kissed her last night, her heart fluttering happily at the thought.

Maybe a bath first.

She switches over to Nightwish a few moments before entering the bathroom, Tarja Turunen singing in her beautiful alto before the bass and drums follow. She moves and swings her body to the rhythm, unaware of the smile still covering her face. The workout high still burning high and sweet in her system, making her wanna jump to the beats but she controls the urge, bouncing on her toes instead and singing along the emphasis lines as she enters the bathroom and locks it behind her.

Her bathroom is simple. The floor is tiled white with orange streaks running over them like modern art. The walls are half tile and half plaster, protecting it from the water and humidity. It has a normal sink and pot and the only thing fancy other than the shower is the mirror with lights fixed around its border. She only ever used those when she needed to go for a night out and really wanted to get laid.

A small exhaust fan is fixed right above the tub and shower area which is currently hidden from view, like always, thanks to the very opaque curtain separating that side of the bathroom. 

She can't count the number of times Zoro had entered this bathroom hoping it's his and interrupted Nami’s business. A placard stating it as Nami’s bathroom was a failure for some reason and about five times of faulty locks followed by screams, groans and laughs, Nami had just decided on buying the curtains. She didn't care if Zoro used her bathroom even if she's in it as long as he didnt see her naked.

And that had been that.

She turns to look at herself in the mirror, unclasping the bra and throwing it in the hamper, eyes fixed on her free sweaty gleaming bosom and the tone on her stomach. She spots a few red dots on her flushed outer elbow and turns a bit, trying to get a view of the freckles on her back. 

There's a red line marking the strap on her back and she reaches back trying to scratch it, turning her face away for more access and at the same time the curtain is pulled back to reveal a drenched Vivi.

There is silence for one second in the bathroom, both the ladies staring wide eyed at each other’s revealed skin.

Nami’s eyes rake all over Vivi, taking in the tanned brown skin, the image burning into her skull as she looks.

Long, drenched hair set around beautiful cut features supported by a long elegant neck, lean straight shoulders and toned arms framing the two tan gorgeous breasts, still a little jiggly after pulling the curtain aside, the areolas even darker and the nipples perked, a droplet hanging on the edge of one for its dear life before finally giving out and falling, unable to get in touch with the sinfully beautiful skin stretched over toned abs elongating around the navel and into the softly darkening groin, a strip of hair hiding the skin and parts beneath it, but not enough to hide the shape of the parting lips curving into the V and overlapping lean inner thighs.

Nami’s eyes snap up to meet Vivi’s overblown ones, realising what's happening and screams erupt from both the girls, words making no sense as they both lunge for the closest thing to cover themselves with. 

They end up pulling on either side of a towel, caught in a somewhat naked tug of war as both the girls try hiding their junk with their eyes pinched shut, awkward silence starting to replace the preferable confused screams.

 

~

 

The only noise comes from the sizzle of sausages on hot oil and a soft, melodious humming. The smell of hotcakes drowned in rich syrup and hashbrowns fried to crisp perfectness permeates the air along with the strong, bitter scent of coffee.

Whiskers and Thomas are mewing and twisting their body around Big Mom’s legs, happily nibbling on the occasional treat the lady flicks their way.

Despite the deliciousness of the feast upon her, Bonney hasn’t reached for anything. She’s waiting for the shoe to drop. She didn’t tell her mother about the new video they’re filming because she knows Big Mom would’ve been pissed to know she’s living with a man she’s not in a relationship with, but it’s not like having a boyfriend would have made this all that better or easier.

No man has ever been good enough for Bonney in her mother’s eye. She has found a flaw in every man she’s ever dated, from their jobs down to the clothes they wear. And Ace, sitting on the kitchen table without a shirt (and now thankfully wearing a pajama), hair messed up from the pillow, body full of scratches, is certainly not the type of boy Big Mom wants for her daughter.

So how does Bonney explain to her mother she’s not dating Ace but living with him? 

Maybe she can claim to be lesbian… Her mother isn’t phobic.

Or maybe she can say Ace is gay.

“This all smells delicious, Miss Jewelry,” Ace speaks up, smiling at the lady working on the stove.

“Jewelry’s my late husband,” Big Mom says, glancing and smiling at Ace making Bonney start.

Did her mom just smile at a boy who she probably thinks she’s living in with? 

“I’m still a Charlotte; didn’t give up my name for marriage, too proud of it. But you can call me Big Mom. Now, tell me why you haven’t eaten, Bernadine?”

“Mom!” Bonney exclaims. 

Ace looks confused for a moment before realising that’s probably Bonney’s real name. He grins at the girl cheekily who is blushing red and staring horrified at her mother. No wonder she refuses showing off her paycheck! But the cat’s outta the bag and Ace is going to give it a world tour.

“It’s the name I gave you, so that’s what I’m going to call you,” Big Mom chides. “Now eat.”

“You don’t gotta tell me twice,” Ace speaks before Bonney, winking at her before he pulls a plate stacked with hotcakes towards himself hungrily. He cuts into the soft pancake with his fork and stuffs his mouth, groaning when the sweet, buttery taste fills his mouth. “Hmm, this is  _ so _ good.” he moans out.

“Thank you, dear,” Big Mom says, smiling at Ace, and Bonney still doesn’t get what’s making her do that! “Now, what you say your name is?

“Uhm,” Ace gulped down a mouthful, coughing a bit, “Ace Portgas, ma’am!”

“Now, isn’t that a nice name,” Big Mom says, her eyes going fond and Bonney is starting to feel really weirded out but she readjusts her features when her mother turns to look at her “And look at them dimples. He’s as cute as a button!”

“Mom!!”

Ace smirks to show off his dimples again, “Why, thank you Miss Charlotte!”

Bonney grits her teeth and glares at her friend. Bastard’s enjoying this. There is no way he doesn’t realize that her mother has misunderstood the situation. And it becomes apparent when Big Mom turns around to return the milk and juice to the fridge and Ace gives her a huge wink.

Bonney growls, then turns to her mom, “Big Mom, it’s nothing like that! Didn’t I already tell you?”

The elder lady turns to look her daughter sternly in the eye. “Same thing you said ‘bout that Sanji boy?”

“Sanji?” Bonney cocks her head to the side, not understanding where he popped up from.

“Yes. You said you wasn’t dating him. Guess who called me a month later saying they broke up, all teared up?”

Ace coughs loudly into the orange juice as it tried making it’s way to his lungs and Big Mom looks at him in surprise while Bonney hurries to thump his back.

“That was Killer! God! You need to stop getting names mixed up! Look at what you’re doing!”

“No, no! It’s fine!” Ace splutters out, his voice catching in his throat leading to another bout of coughing. 

“Go wash up, Ace.” Bonney sighs, pushing him out of the stool.

Ace complies, heading to the bathroom to wash the snot starting to leak through his nose, listening to Bonney talk to her mother. After rinsing his face and putting on a tee, he heads back to see Big Mom watching the TV while Bonney is nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Bonney?” He asks as he sits next to the lady.

“She went to get ready.” She smiles her affectionate smile at him, “you two really not dating?”

“Bonney and I? Nah!” Ace grins at her.

Surprisingly though, the lady’s smile falls a bit as she hums and turns her attention back to the TV. Ace shifts his gaze too, not seeing whatever is running, just giving the kind lady some company. 

“You know… when Bonney was little, her father and I used to ask her what she wanted to do when she grew up, she said she wanted to eat and get married to a man she’d love.”

Ace blinks and turns to look at Big Mom, a little surprised that she is talking to him about Bonney’s past so freely and easily. 

“I…well, I guess she is halfway there!”

Big Mom smiles yet again and mutes the TV before shifting so she’s looking at Ace without having to creak her neck.

“She was such an adorable child. All plump and long brown hair. It used to take me thirty minutes every morning just to detangle it and braid it up. I used to put those round beads in them… she loved them so much.”

Ace smiles at the lady as she talks about Bonney’s childhood with that distant look on her face as she relives the cherished lovely memories, himself trying to imagine the words she speaks. 

He and Bonney have been close friends for the last four years… They met through Sanji and Ace knew that his blond bitch of a friend had tried setting him up with her. But she wasn’t aware of that and was the first girl who didn’t fall for Ace’s charms. It had irritated Ace for a while but then food came and they bonded like gel and the likeness between the two was strong enough for Ace to dump the idea of hitting on her for a night of fun.

No, he didn’t want to know Bonney for just one night… She was someone he wanted to know longer and share some happy memories with.

So he had proceeded to being friends with her and it has probably been one of the few right decisions of his life.

“I bet she was a troublemaker as a kid, right?” Ace asks, grinning.

“She was a sweet child,” Big Mom says. “She just had a fiery temper, that girl. Got that from me.”

“ _ Had _ ? She still does!” Ace laughs. “Should’ve dyed her hair red instead of pink!”

“Such pretty brown hair she had, too,” Big Mom sighs. “Still remember her first time trying to do a simple braid. She made two sections and just entwined them together. She was shocked when they spun undone in less than ten seconds and cried her eyes out.”

“Woah! She cried?” Ace asked, sitting up a little.

“Well, yes. What did you expect?” 

“I dunno.. I just always thought of her as a very hyperactive, happy child. Never even thought that she cried about stuff, least of all, braids,” Ace grumbles.

“Oh dear. She was a child. Of course she cried and threw tantrums. She wasn't a difficult child but she was one none the less,” Big Mom huffs.

“Bonney threw tantrums!?”

“Yes! She knew it was the way to get what she wanted. It never worked on me but Kaido melted faster than a stick of butter in the scorching sun. And Bonney was closer to him either ways... always running up to him when I scolded her or asking him to go out for street food...he used to carry her on his shoulder…” Big mom trails off, eyes going distant again.

Ace keeps quiet, his own mind feeding him images of a very young, kid Bonney with brown pigtails being carried around on her dad’s shoulders as she grins gleefully, licking the ice cream he got her. 

He doesn't realize his heart fluttering a little or the soft smile on his face. He also doesn't realize that Big Mom is observing him silently as she takes in his fond expression. 

 

~

 

It’s warm and soft. Comfortable like a rainy Sunday morning, the kind of day that pleads for bed. Zoro can tell that he’s awake, but his eyes remain close and his body is lethargic. He can feel the sun on his face, the warmth radiating from it into his skin despite the room’s conditioning and the warmth from the body curled into him, a steady heartbeat beating against the side of his ribs.

It takes Zoro a second to realize what he is sensing, his breathing stopping and his eyes snap-blinking open, taking in the bored ceiling fan before letting his eyes fall to his chest, face angling low.

Blond hair smelling like coconuts tickles his chin as Zoro takes in the sleeping figure practically wrapped onto him, one thigh clinging around his waist while the other angled to fit beside his own bent leg, an arm resting on his shoulder, the other tucked in against the softly rising and falling chest. Sanji’s head is resting partly on Zoro’s pectoral and partly on his shoulder. 

There is a small phantom of a smile lingering on the thankfully non-drooling mouth of the blonde, and Zoro suddenly feels like he can breathe when he sees the relaxed expression on Sanji’s face.

Last night was… weird. Sanji and he… well, you could say they talked decently with one another. They had arrived home quite late, what with Zoro wandering without thinking and Sanji probably too distracted to notice that they had ended up taking a longer route home. 

Damn. He was that affected about Kidd. 

But once they’d reached home, everything went almost back to normal. They had a small fight of who got to use the bathroom first, Sanji claiming to have vomited and in more need of a bath than Zoro. Zoro simply ignored the valid logic and remained stubborn on bathing first just to piss the cook off.

They had ended up with Sanji bathing and cursing Zoro from behind the separating bathroom curtain as Zoro vlogged himself brushing his teeth happily. The only reason Sanji hadn't attacked him was because he didn’t want to be caught nude on cam though Zoro did get a good recording of a shampoo-lathered-hair-Sanji poking out from behind the curtain and chucking a well aimed (and scored) shampoo bottle to the mosshead.

Zoro grins, surprising himself as he remembers the look of utmost glee on Sanji’s face when the bottle met its mark and Zoro bit on his own tongue as he spoke. Zoro had decided not to record his bleeding mouth.

He preferred that look on the blond, the somewhat taunting yet harmless glee instead of the disturbed and distracted one.

Sighing, confused on his own feelings being so strong in this manner, Zoro shook his head. He needed to work out.

The thought is almost fully processed when Zoro looks down again and his eyes fall on the smooth stretch of Sanji’s forehead and he stops, studying Sanji’s face more closely. 

The words beautiful and regal rise in his mind, which doesn’t make any sense. Sanji is the furthest thing from beautiful and he could only be considered regal if there’s a kingdom for idiots out there. 

But the words persist, pointing out the natural slant of Sanji’s lashes, the sorry excuse of a mustache covered cupid’s bow, the point of his nose, the angle of his jaw… everything is visible on a microscopic level and Zoro can't stop observing more of the blond.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” Zoro groans, closing his eyes and turning away from Sanji. He feels the blond move, but he only makes a small, annoyed noise before he draws even closer to Zoro and then sighs contently. 

He must be tired… Zoro thinks. 

He grabs his phone from the shelf and sees it's almost 7.30 AM. He can fit in a thirty minute workout, can’t he? Yes, definitely. He can always squeeze in some intense workout, no matter what the time is. 

But it’s warm. And comfortable. So warm and comfortable… He hasn’t felt this attached to a bed in a long time and it’s getting difficult for him to depart from it. 

But he needs to. 

Sighing regretfully, he tries shifting a little, only then realising that he’s holding onto the wrist placed on his shoulder and his other arm is angled awkwardly to provide Sanji with his head rest while his hip bone is pressed lightly against Sanji’s... 

Well, this is awkward.

Now realising what he put Sanji through yesterday, Zoro allows his face and neck to burn from embarrassment as he tries to softly extract himself from the cook. It isn’t easy, Sanji is almost as big a closet cuddler as Zoro and it’s a surprise that Zoro doesn’t wake him up when he lifts the blonde head and shifts out from under him, slipping a pillow underneath before resting Sanji’s head on it.

Sanji only frowns a little and paws at the bed before grabbing hold of the pillow and burying his face in it, as his body curled in on itself, resuming the light breathing, dead to the world.

“Idiot curly prince,” Zoro mutters, a little too fond for his liking.

He shakes his head again as he heads for the bathroom. About time the morning started. 

He stumbles on the way, and his hand goes out automatically to the side, wanting to cling onto anything for support. His vision suddenly blurs as he manages to hold onto the doorknob, the hallway spinning fast and it feels like his head has been draped with a heavy wet cloth that weighed him down, making him bend as his knees hit the ground.

~

Luscious lips smack together once and Bonney gives her face one final glance in her mirror before heading to her room, ignoring the small laughs flowing in from the drawing room. 

Ace and Mom have gotten along all too well in her opinion she thinks while extracting her small stash of jewelry. She fumbles through it for a while before finding her small diamond earrings and returns the rest of them back under her bed. 

Getting up and screwing the earrings into her ear, she stares pointedly at her cats who are sleeping soundly after eating their fill. Mom and she had given them tidbits but Ace had surprisingly shared an acceptable portion of his food with them, probably in the hopes of getting friendly. He had then tried petting them as they ate and ruined all the effort. His hands were decorated with fresh scars and Mom kept laughing endlessly.

Rolling her eyes at the pair, she heads out of her room, ready to break the laughing duo when her mobile rings in the back pocket of her jeans and she pulls it out, switching off the lights of the room as she does, and grins when she see’s Ivan’s pouting face on her phone. 

“Hey sweetheart! How you doin?” she murmurs before actually answering the call.

~

Sanji walks out of his office and into his bedroom. It’s quite dark and he can barely make the outline of his bed as he staggers to it, tired from work and fighting the three sworded samurai. He reaches the bed and falls forward on it, landing face down on the grass, with his ass pouting in the air behind him and his tail swishing happily as he nuzzles into the warmth. There is some music playing happily in the background, it’s got a nice beat but the words are … hazy. 

He notices a pair of boots in front of his face and grins, recognizing whose they are and looks up, his eyes trailing up the dark green coat and red waistband, passing the pectorals and just when he is about to see Zoro’s face, the sun blinds his vision and the music along with their words become extremely loud, though he still understood jack all.

_...ave fun tonight, I got cheap thrills. I don’t need no money... _

He blinks, recognizing his sunlit room and his alarm tone playing on his shelf. A part of his brain is still clouded, unable to understand where he was while the very recently awake one realizes that he had been dreaming. 

As his brain slowly works on processing the real world - the one devoid of humans with tails or ships with grass growing on it - he turns, stretching himself and fumbling with the side table to stop his phone from playing his morning alarm, now murmuring along with Sia. Still humming the tune, he notes the time and sees it’s 09.01 AM and then connects to the WiFi. 

He closes his eyes, letting the phone fall on the covers. It’s pretty late, for him. Second day in a row. But the way his body is currently fully relaxed and warm, he can’t say he regrets it. Yesterday was not a good day. Kidd came back into his life, out of nowhere and with no warnings. He was stressed throughout the day because of it and all those texts exchanged between them were awkward and unnerving. 

He opens his eyes and looks up at the ceiling fan, thinking about the way he and Kidd were together… those were good times, some of the best of his life. They hadn’t been in love but that’s an overrated emotion. You can simply gel with someone and have a good time, make happy memories with them. 

The last message last night had been Kidd asking if they could meet up for breakfast or lunch. Sanji was about to respond with a polite ‘no, sorry. Busy tomorrow. Maybe later?’ and then keep avoiding the red head but he knew that it was of no use. But just before tapping the ‘send’ on his phone, he had hesitated. 

Ace would kill him for even thinking about meeting Kidd and Bonney would make certain to accompany him, after giving him an earful for saying yes. But… he needed it. Kidd had looked sorry when he saw him yesterday and he could do with some closure himself. 

So he had decided to not respond immediately, think it through. Does he actually wants to meet him or is he just doing it because he saw him so suddenly and it left him a little unstable?

And then he had headed home, his mind filled with the same question and two simple answers: yes or no. It was when he had pulled into the driveway and thought about continuing to torture himself in the shower that he suddenly remembered that Zoro was at his place and he would have to cook for the man. 

He looks at the side of the bed he had just rolled away from, the memories from last night coming back to him and making him smile unconsciously.

It had been a pleasant surprise to find food from his childhood home ready and warm for him. It had been a thoughtful gesture on Zoro’s part, whether that had been intentional or not, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that it had given Sanji a break from his inner turmoil, and that Zoro had managed to distract him from something that had consumed his every thought previously. He hadn’t thought it was possible, least of all coming from someone like Zoro.

They had eaten, gone for a walk, Sanji had gotten sick but Zoro hadn’t been a jerk about it, and instead of making fun of him, had been quite understanding and supportive. It was a little weird, seeing the other man look at him with slight worry tinting his usually prideful eyes. It got even weirder when Zoro outright asked him about Kidd. 

And Sanji had disclosed what he felt was comfortable. Not too many details but a basic outline. And frankly, sharing even that little bit had helped more than he could have imagined. It made him feel lighter (though honestly, it could have been the contents of his stomach leaving him) and a little more level-headed. 

When they came back using the long route that Sanji had cantered them in, Zoro had seemed oblivious and they had discussed about their families. 

Being YouTubers, hardly anything in their life was too private. Of course, they had more control over the information they wanted out, they were not some huge celebrities with paparazzi tailing their every move. But they had a large amount of subscribers and they usually asked a  _ lot _ of questions, wanting to have a personal insight of their life - leading to a series of Q&A videos at least once every four to six months where sufficient information was released.

And none of those videos included the things Sanji told Zoro last night. They were meant to be private, something that only he and his closest friends knew. It added a sense of normality to the haphazard uniform life he led. 

Needless to say, it meant something--if not too much--to have shared that with Zoro. And he has never seen more than perhaps two videos of the moss, so he doesn’t know if what Zoro shared was just random information about himself or something private. 

At the end of the day, they had returned to their normal taunting selves. Sanji’s mind was still a little shaken but after taking a fast shower, he had forgotten all his worries and fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. 

His phone vibrated and he picked it off the covers to see that all his notifications were updated. Not in the mood for checking them, he simply sighs and pushes the covers off himself before rolling off the bed, his sleep pants a little strained as usual in the nether regions and his night shirt a crushed mess as he stands and stretches again. 

He replaces the phone back on the side desk and proceeds to clean his bed, fluff the pillows and fold the covers, singing Sia’s Cheap Thrills to himself as he does so. Lining the comforter neatly at the shorter leg end of the bed, he extracts a different bed cover from the small cupboard in the room and spread it neatly on his bed. It’s off white with light blue and light pink artistic patches spread on it making it look like stamps of autumn leaves.

Happy with the setup, he walks to the bathroom, mind once more thinking if he should meet Kidd or not. Though now it isn’t as stressful as it was yesterday. 

If he is being honest with himself, he does want to meet with the man. Does he have a reason? No. Does he need a reason? Yes, but he’s gonna think about it after he meets with him. His instincts are just telling him that meeting the man might not be a bad idea at all. 

And if he thinks about it, that’s a pretty good reason all on it’s own.

He turns the knob of the bathroom, only to find it locked.

“One minute! I’m almost done,” Zoro’s voice reaches him muffled through the door.

“Ah! Alright!” Sanji calls back and walks over to the kitchen. He can do with a cup of coffee

He always has the coffee and sugar beat up together and stored in a small container in his fridge. It's quite unhealthy with the equal amounts of coffee and sugar mixed together but he’s in the mood for something sweet. 

Taking out the container and milk, he sets the milk to boil on the gas and in the meantime, picks out two coffee cups from the wooden cupboard. He puts two scoops of the coffee sugar mix in each and the milk is still not boiled so he drinks water straight from the bottle as he waits.

About a minute later, the milk is ready and he adds it to the cups with a flourish, starting by adding it close to the mouth and then pulling the pot up, causing a foam to rise as more milk is added at longer distance. 

“That coffee?” 

Sanji looks up to see Zoro walking up to the counter, his eyes fixed intently on the coffee mugs that Sanji just finished filling. He is barefoot and wearing a simple white undershirt and jeans, small water droplets glistening off his poorly towel dried and ruffled hair. 

“Yup.” Sanji passes one of the cups in Zoro’s direction as he steps closer. 

As Zoro picks up the cup eagerly, Sanji notices that he looks a little... different. Tired, definitely-- his whole body is sagging-- but there is something else and he can’t quite place it.

Zoro notices his staring, but instead of snapping at him, he simply gives him a small smile. Sanji is so startled by the odd reaction that he can’t help but to return the gesture, all other thoughts erased from his mind.

~

 

Nami is grinning to herself as Vivi resolutely avoids her gaze and works furiously in the kitchen. Grabbing stuff from here and there, slicing through vegetables, whisking eggs, adding milk, dipping bread in batter then transferring it to the heated pan. 

“Hey!” Nami quips and Vivi stills for a second before resuming her work, back turned to her.

Nami chuckles and continues, “do you know what ghosts say to hornets?”

There is a long silence broken only by the sizzle of the french toast in the pan. 

“No,” Vivi answers curtly.

“Take a guess?” Nami grins, leaning forward on the table, allowing her low cut to leave nothing to imagination.

Vivi tips the toasts on the plates and carries them over to the table, setting them at the centre before heading back to the counter and returning with two cups of coffee. 

“I don’t know,” She says finally when Nami doesn’t stop staring. “Boo?”

“Bees,” Nami replies, her grin widening - making Vivi blush hard and look into her coffee mug. 

“God. Look at you blush,” Nami comments and Vivi glares at her.

“It’s not funny!” Vivi snaps, looking cuter than before with her cheeks puffed and glare shifting to her empty plate.

“It totally is,” Nami contradicts, just to tease the girl and is rewarded with a soft sniff before Vivi leans ahead to pick a toast.

Nami’s heart melts. Just looking at the girl with her hair in a loose bun and specks, dressed in a white loose shirt that was just shy of revealing her cleavage, her long neck decorated with a thin silver chain and blue pendant… she is just too cute to resist teasing. Nami’s heart flutters a little as she remembers what she saw earlier today.

“Stop looking at me like that!” Vivi snaps and Nami blinks, not realizing she had been staring hard at the blue haired girl’s boobs.

“What? I am not looking at you!” Nami responds, her heart suddenly beating a little faster. She didn’t think she would be caught.

“Yes you are! You are looking at me like you know how I look naked!” Vivi retorts.

Nami grins evilly in response, “I do kno-”

The rest of her words are drowned with a loud frustrated noise mixed with a whimper released by Vivi as she lets go of her food and bunches her hands in her hair instead like just listening to it is killing her.  

Nami can’t help but sigh and lean forward and smile warmly, “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about Vivi. You have what I do. Don’t overthink it. We are spending a week together, it had to happen.” 

Vivi looks up at Nami, her eyes searching, mouth still turned down in a frown. They keep looking at each other for a little while before Nami cracks another smile.

“Or, if you want, we could totally make a big deal out of it. I could keep that moment plastered on my brain for the whole week… maybe my whole lifetime and remind myself how achingly hot you are. And you can look at me every time and remember just how perfect I am without a bra and…”

“ALRIGHT, NO! PLEASE STOP!” Vivi screeches, practically flying across the table to clamp her hand around Nami’s mouth, though still unable to completely muffle out Nami’s laughter.

~

 

“...all the way up to ninth grade!” Big Mom finishes just as Bonney walks in, and she’s immediately suspicious.

“What are we talking about?”

“Your giant crush on Brian Bedford,” Ace says, grinning widely. “Didn’t know you like them old, Bon.”

“Mom! Stop telling people about that!” Bonney whines. “It’s not true!”

“You had a huge poster of him up on your wall for five years straight, honey.”

“I only liked him in the Robin Hood movie, and he was young then!”

“Almost forty, not that young,” Ace says.

“Whatever, can we switch topics, please?” Bonney says. “I just got a call from Ivan and he’s got a great idea for a next challenge.”

“I know what that means,” Ace grins, his mind flashing him signs of the beautiful human in tight dresses and perfect makeup.

Ivan is a Drag Queen/King. They were agender and didn’t give a damn about what pronouns were used to denote them. Ace went with ‘they’ while Bonney stuck to ‘she’ as Ivan’s drag Queen fascinated her to no end. 

If they had called then it only meant that they had thought about the offer Bonney had bumped up to them sometime last week when she, Ace, Luffy and Ivan went out for drinks. They had seemed intrigued then and had promised to call Bonney back if they could get their crew to agree. 

Seems like they all agreed.

“So you’re up for it?” Bonney asks, on the same wavelength as Ace. 

One of the great things about having a best friend is they often start thinking the same thing as you do. Ace can see the excitement gleam in Bonney’s eyes and feels excited himself. 

“Totally,” Ace winks, “can’t wait to bend and snap!”

Bonney grins at Ace. “Awesome. I’ve always wondered what you would look like in fishnet stockings.”

Ace laughs with Bonney, both totally unaware of the wide-eyed stare coming from Big Mom.  _ Is it something kinky?, _ the older woman wonders, before dismissing the thought. Her daughter is an adult, and this Ace fella is a hundred times better than any of the other boys her daughter has introduced to her.

“Alright, I need to call the others,” Bonney says, calming her laughter. “I’m pretty sure Luffy and Zoro are down for it, and so are Nami, Vivi and Robin - but Sanji will need some pretty heavy convincing.”

“Just make it into a competition or something, with Zoro” Ace snorts. “You know how those are.”

“I swear sometimes I think they hate each other’s guts, and in the next moment, they are like the best of friends,” Bonney mutters. “I’ll go call them right now.”

Big Mom smiles knowingly as Ace’s eyes follow Bonney’s figure leaving the room. She hums to herself and stands up before walking to the fridge to take out the cake she brought over this morning. She had planned on leaving the whole thing for Bonney--Lord knows her daughter loves sweets--but she like sweets as well and the  temptation is too strong. 

She cuts the cake expertly and brings out three small plates to serve the perfectly even slices. She puts the plates on the table, then turns around to put the remaining cake back in the fridge before she gives in to the craving and cuts herself an extra slice to transfer onto her plate.

“I hope you like buttercream frosting, because my recipe is to die for--.” Her voice stops abruptly, eyes landing on the three empty plates on the table. Did she...she did serve them, right? Did she imagine that?

Her eyes snap up to Ace just in time to see him lick the last traces of frosting from his lips.

“I, uh, love buttercream…?”

_ Ah really, this boy is just perfect _ , Big Mom thinks.

~

 

It takes a moment for zoro to discern the sound of a ringtone from the loud music he usually plays while he edits his videos. 

Zoro had been hit with three dizzy spells since the morning. He’d thought before - in Sanji’s room and in the shower after his workout - that it was because he was on an empty stomach. He had been thinking of heading over to McDonalds or KFC the moment he was done bathing - he was, under no circumstance, going to touch Sanji’s kitchen, and he wasn't going to wake up the cook either. But then the knob had rattled and Zoro had realized with utmost relief that Sanji was awake and he might have to skip a trip to junk town.

The third spell hit him after breakfast, which was heavy. Pancakes with all sorts of fruits and honey, maple syrup and chocolate syrup. It was high calorie and high sugar food. And yet, after Sanji had cleaned the dishes and Zoro was in the closet, pulling on his loose white tee, the third spell hit and it hit pretty hard.

He had planned on leaving for work then, but he was suddenly not too sure about driving when he could be hit with another spell like that. So when Sanji had asked him if he was leaving, he had suggested carpooling and the blond had hummed an agreement after a few seconds, saying something about everyone else doing it before entering the shower and telling the Marimo that they would be able to leave in half an hour.

But Zoro knows Sanji… Half an hour meant an hour and he could easily edit his video in that time.

Which is why he is lounging on Sanji’s bed and doing just that. Working at OneFeed is great, but his priority is his own channel, so he often tries to finish all that work early.

He pauses his music and yup, that’s Sanji’s phone ringing at the moron’s side shelf. Who puts their phone screen down? Has Sanji never experienced screen rashes?

He stares at the phone for a second, wondering if he should answer whoever’s calling and tell them to call back later. But the prospect of getting off his belly (read: abs), walking over to the other side of the bed and then actually being polite to probably someone he might not know… no. 

If someone important is calling, Sanji will call them back. The call log exists for a reason. The caller id exists for a reason. The freaking technology that expanded a calling device into a palmtop existed for a reason.

Should Zoro bother checking on it? No.

Is he lazy? No.

He just doesn’t like doing unnecessary work.

The phone stops ringing and Zoro sighs, free of the dilemma. But not fifteen seconds pass before it starts ringing again and Zoro groans. Do people have no patience?

But then, what if it is someone important? What if it’s Sanji’s father? He wouldn’t be calling again if it wasn’t important. Zoro sighs and clambers up, then freezing on the spot as he feels dizzy again and sitting down again for a bit as Marlyn Mason starts to growl in the background. He sits for about five seconds, allowing the head rush to recede before walking over to the damned phone and see who’s calling.

Kidd.

The screen shows the generic humanoid figure that shows when a picture ID isn’t available, but the name is in big letters: KIDD.

Well, this was a damn important phone call, it was.

For one wild moment, Zoro considers ending the call. His finger is poised and ready, but he hesitates. Yeah, it’s clear now that Kidd and Sanji have bad history together, but that’s none of Zoro’s business. Sanji didn’t disclose any information yesterday, other than the fact that they dated, but even a moron can see how badly affected Sanji was.

Zoro doesn’t like seeing Sanji like that. The cook isn’t meant to look so...empty. But again, this isn’t Zoro’s business. Besides, ending the call doesn’t mean Kidd will give up. Or that the two won’t talk to each other another time. No, this isn’t his decision to make, it’s Sanji.

The phone is still ringing, a clear indication that Kidd is determined to talk to Sanji.

Zoro sighs and drags his feet towards the bathroom, knocking twice before the sound of rushing water stops.

“What’s up?” Sanji’s voice echos.

“You got a call,” Zoro answers. “It’s Kidd.”

There’s a long pause, Marilyn Manson’s theory about new shit the only sound, and Zoro hopes Sanji will tell him to ignore the call. But then--

“Door’s open, can you hand it to me?”

Zoro grits his teeth, jaw flexing, and pushes the door open. Sanji is peeking at him from behind the curtain, his blond hair darker because of the water and plastered to his neck. Unintentionally, Zoro’s gaze moves to the shadow of Sanji’s body behind the curtain, the dip of his back and the curve of his ass, followed by the deadly length of his legs and the shadow of his---

“Thanks, Zoro.”

His eyes snap to Sanji’s blue and he scowls. “No problem,” he mutters, handing the phone over before leaving, slamming the door shut.

Sanji stares at the closed door, confused by the embarrassment he feels. Zoro was checking him out, wasn’t he? His eyes were definitely looking, but that...doesn’t mean anything. And it doesn't matter. 

He looks down at the phone and takes a deep breath before swiping right, answering the call.

“Hello?”

“Sanji?”

Wow. Even after this long, the memories that voice brings are…powerful. He closes his eyes, bringing his hand up to facepalm himself. Why did he have to answer? The thought of the last time he heard Kidd’s voice through the phone like this…

“Are you there?”

“I’m here,” Sanji answers quietly, biting his lip a little after responding, his voice echoing  a little.

“Sanji, I just want to talk,” Kidd is rushing, his words strung together and said in just one breath, as if fearing Sanji will hang up at any moment.

A memory flashes in front of Sanji’s eyes. He is sitting on his sofa and just staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring… waiting for a reply from Kidd.  Anger and pain courses through him as he remembers how much he’d wanted to talk to Kidd after he left. Just a word… something… anything. 

But he’d gotten nothing.

All the patience that he thought he had in the morning, to meet Kidd suddenly evaporated.

“Then talk,” he snaps.

“Not like this,” Kidd says. “Not through the phone. I... I want...can we meet, Sanji, please?”

Sanji really wants Kidd to stop using his name. It’s not fair, in many different ways. He wants to say no, wants to say screw you and hang up, but there is a part of him that also wants to talk. Two years and that part of him is still alive, just a little, to want to talk to Kidd. See him and understand what happened and … just talk.

“Let’s have lunch together,” Kidd offers, obviously taking Sanji’s silence as contemplation. Kidd knew Sanji well enough to know how Sanji works. “Anywhere you want.”

“No,” Sanji says without thinking, then bites his lip. “Um, tomorrow. We can have coffee.” And he gets more time to prepare himself. He can’t do this alone, he’s accepting that. He needs to talk to Bonney and Ace, needs to have some type of backup before meeting Kidd. Even if they’re against the idea, they won’t turn their backs on him.

“Then tomorrow,” Kidd agrees, sounding breathless, as if he can’t believe Sanji agreed. “I’ll see you then.”

Sanji doesn't offer a goodbye, ending the call with a little hassle as water drops don’t allow the touch screen to work all that smoothly. 

~

“Ow, ow, ow--that huuuuuuuurts!”

“Well, it should!” Big Mom snaps, pulling on Ace’s ear a bit harder. “You ate everyone’s share.”

“I’m sorry, Big Mom. It was just too goooood! Please staaaappphhhh”

“Sorry ain’t mean nothing boy. Why, I should--.”

What exactly she should do, is interrupted by the sound of her genering ringtone. Big Mom immediately let’s go of Ace, bringing the phone up to answer the only people who ever call her: her children.

“Praline, my dear! What’s the matter?”

“ _ Mom, when are you coming over?” _ Ace hears over the speaker, thankful that his ear is now free and rubbing the reddening cartlidge. 

“Oh dear, what time is it?” Big Mom brings her other hand up to check the time, and her eyes widen. “I’m sorry, I just lost track of time! I’ll be there in a few, I’ll just say goodbye to your sister.”

“ _ Okay, say bye for me too. Love ya’!” _

“I love you, too, darling,” Big Mom gushes before hanging up the phone. “Bernadine! Come say goodbye to your mother!”

Ace chuckles as Bonney groans loudly about the name before realising that it means Big Mom is leaving already.

“Aw man, you’re leaving? I was enjoying the company,” he pouts, giving her his best puppy face.

Big Mom smiles sweetly at him, previous anger seemingly gone as she takes in his expression. Ace hi-fived himself in his mind ~ puppy face always worked. 

“I was too, m’dear. You take care of my Bernadine, alright?” she says.

Ace blinks at her, the pout falling, surprised by the words and opens his mouth to ask exactly what she means by that, but Bonney chooses that moment to walk back into the kitchen and his mouth snaps shut. Whiskers and Thomas follow behind her, probably awakened by Big Mom’s shout, and settle comfortably by the foot of the couch.

“Give me a second, Sanji--Bye, Mom!” Bonney says, giving her mother a one-handed hug. “Thanks for visiting.”

“Don’t be a stranger, sweetheart,” Big Mom says, patting Bonney’s head. “Take care of yourself. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Ma. Let me walk you out.”

Ace smiles fondly as Bonney’s southern accent comes out a little with the endearment. She has the phone squished between her shoulder and cheek while she dutifully nods at her mother’s instruction for staying safe and kisses the older woman goodbye.  

Ace is really too surprised to say an actual goodbye to the sweet lady. Her last statement took him by surprise. Bonney can take care of herself just fine and they are best buds… they always take care of each other. But he doubts Mom ever said that to Sanji or Vivi...

“...sorry, as I was saying, Ivan  _ begged _ me--I know, Sanji, but open your mind a little, step up to the challenge,” Bonney says, rolling her eyes at Ace before moving to pace across the living room. Whiskers stares indignantly at her as she steps by him while Thomas simply lifts his head and watches her move.

Ace looks at her as she talks to their best friend, his mind still thinking about what Big Mom said.

“Yes, a challenge. I mean, I’m sure Zoro doesn’t mind, you know he’s open-minded....I don’t know, he would make a hot lady...a wig and some lipstick makes wonders….yes, I know you’re hot, Sanji--.”

Ace follows Bonney’s movement’s fondly, unsurprised to see her two cats following her every footsteps, probably trying to trip her up. He watches her play their friends like two fiddles, still barefooted, pacing all over the living room and kitchen, rolling her eyes and making faces at Ace as she plays Zoro and Sanji against each other. Her nose crinkles when she grins, her lashes flutter when she rolls her eyes, her lips stretch tantalizingly when she grins, and her every step is calculated as she moves to avoid stepping over her two cats with ease.

He can see the spark of mischievousness in her eyes, the silent laughter in her lips, the grace in her step...and it is  _ beautiful _ .

 

**_To Be_ _Continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instagrams!
> 
> Dangit: @bymo36 
> 
> ZoSanLaw: @animeandfitness and @nolabels_writing (follow the 2nd one if you're only up for ZoSan related stuff. I started  
> this recently to post ZoSan on it.)
> 
> I actually have one more point to add but sleepy af, will add it in the next chap... Really hope y'all enjoyed, leave us some comments, we love reading em!
> 
> See you around sweethearts! <3


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